What the Future Holds
by Tenstar12
Summary: Wareta Kai is saved from a madman and brought to Konoha. How will he cope with having the life of a Shinobi thrust upon him while he deals with losing his memeory? very light Ino X OC-Kai-. Sequel in the works.
1. Chapter 1

What the Future Holds

By: Tenstar12

Chapter 1

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

AN: For any people who can speak and/or read Japanese, please don't criticize my grammar. I used some Japanese for the Jutsu in this fic, the ones from the show are just like they should be but the original ones are all strictly literal translations I pieced together with an English to Japanese dictionary. I did not worry about grammar or any thing like that. I just used what sounded coolest to me at the time. I will have a translation section at the end of the chapter for those who cannot even begin to translate the Jutsu names. With that out of the way, please enjoy the fic.

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It was just about time. The sun was about ten minutes from touching down on the horizon, the fateful moment was drawing ever closer. He had been preparing for this moment all week. The boy was ready, the seals had been drawn, and the appropriate time for the transfer was approaching.

Zanbifushi Hito looked at the form in front of him. It was a young boy, about 12 years old, lying on a stone slab just above waist height, dressed only in a threadbare pair of shorts, his shirt having been stripped off for the purpose of the ritual. The boy's chest and arms were almost completely covered in a large and very complex seal that centered just above where his heart was. It had taken just over a month to find and obtain this boy. He was protected by his family as well as the other members of the small village Hito had come across in his travels. Once the boy was identified, well, it was a small matter for his subordinates to infiltrate and attempt to steal the boy, but as they were making there escape, one of his ninja had attracted the attention of a watch dog just outside the building and they were forced to leave the child in order to escape with their lives.

The next day when Hito had been informed of their failure they had been severely punished and their pain and drained chakra had helped to re-energize their master as he prepared the ritual that the child was required for. In the end it had taken another two failed attempts to kidnap the child before Hito finally decided to take care of the job himself.

The old ninja smiled as he remembered the look on the face of the villagers when the old man they had been helping suddenly pulled out a katana and started decapitating them left and right before the village's small garrison of ninja showed up to attempt to stop the old Shinobi, but to no avail. They too were quickly cut down or incinerated by his katana and Jutsu. He remembered walking up to the small house and backhanding the large dog that leapt at him, knocking it into the building's brick wall. When the dog hit, the door had burst open and the boy's father had charged out and attempted to stop him, but was quickly silenced himself.

He entered the house and found the mother, holding the child to her in a vain attempt to protect him from the older ninja. Hito had attempted to grab the woman and throw her out of the way when her eyes suddenly changed and she leapt up herself and attacked him. It only took a few seconds to defeat her, but she took more of his time than any other person in that pathetic village had. Once she fell to his power the ninja used a forced sleep Jutsu on the boy and flung him over his shoulder, carrying him out of the house and back down the path of gore left in his wake when he had entered the village.

After his expedition Hito had been forced to rest for several days before he could finish preparation for his ritual, but now he was nearly complete. He could almost feel his new body and youth. The old ninja laughed silently as he began forming a series of hand seals. He finished the seals with a burst of chakra and a cry of, "_Kikou Saseru n__o__ Jutsu_."

When the chakra dissipated a blue ball began to emerge from the older man's forehead. Once the ball fully appeared it pulsed slightly before drifting down and fusing into the boy's forehead. He was one step closer now. With a slight grimace of pain from his ever persistent arthritis, a curse upon his weak body, Hito began another series of different hand seals, this time finishing with a smaller burst of chakra and a finger placed to the young boy's temple as he said, "_Kikou __Mippei Suru no Jutsu, Kohyo Suru, _'_Kai_'"

Hito grinned as another key fell into place before suddenly collapsing to his knees, once again cursing his frail old body, and slowly struggling to a stool that was placed near the slab table for just this purpose. So it was now, so it had been every other time Hito had switched bodies. He always had plenty of chakra, but lacked the stamina to do everything in one go. Hito became lost in his thoughts of his past "lives." He was a ninja as old as the art itself; he was one of the original Shinobi masters. He even created many of the original versions of Jutsu that were widely used today by ninja everywhere.

But as his life dwindled and his fellow pioneers into the world of Jutsu died, either through age or assassins jealous and afraid of their power, Hito began searching for a way to keep himself alive. His research led him to create his ultimate technique. It switched his soul with that of another human, as long as said human had the proper seals on them. The only problem with his method of reincarnation was that he had to transfer a copy of his old memories over to the body first in order to be able to remember anything at all. His first experience with this had been nearly disastrous before he found his own notes and figured out what was going on. In order to solve this problem he had created his memory transfer and memory sealing Jutsu. This way, he could transfer his memories and keep them from overwhelming him when he entered his new body until he was ready and spoke the release word added into the Jutsu. He had heard that since his original creation of the Jutsu, another ninja of great skill had modified it fairly recently to remove some of its downsides, but it had never interested him much. He was very satisfied with his own method of immortality, but if he ever managed to track down this Orochimaru, he would have to be sure to see how he did it before he killed the fool.

With a groan, Hito began to rise so as to be ready to complete the ritual in time to catch the sunset that he had come to love with new eyes. He had always loved watching the sunset; the sun was the only thing that he saw as being more powerful than himself, and Hito was inclined to believe that even the tailed demon lords could not match his power when he was at his peak in each life. The sun, much like he saw himself, was eternal, always there, never failing to appear every morning and to take its magnificence from our sight every night. Some might say that Hito worshiped the sun; however this was not exactly true. He simply saw it as something worth respecting and as such felt that he should show his respect by admiring its beauty whenever possible, and so his timing for his rebirth ritual was set.

As Hito reached his feet and steadied himself against the stone in front of him, he admired his newest vessel. This boy was nothing special on the surface, just an ordinary boy raised in a small village in the middle of nowhere, but the old ninja master had discovered the truth behind his family, particularly his mother's line. In this boy's genes was the potential for a bloodline ability. This particular kekkei genkai was a Dojutsu with very strange properties, and the boy's family had once been something of a legend, especially since they had been rumored to have disappeared completely, but when they were still well known, they were some of the fiercest warriors that the world had ever seen. Hito had yet to discover what exactly this kekkei genkai did, but he was anxious to find out through personal experience.

Slowly, Hito began gathering chakra to begin the two hundred seal chain that would be necessary to safely switch his soul with that of the child before him, when one of his subordinates burst through the undergrowth in the clearing that he had set up in, "Zanbifushi-sama! We have an unknown ninja approaching our perimeter!" the man cried as he broke the serenity of the scene within the clearing.

"Well then catch him you fool!" Hito shouted at his minion, fuming at the disturbance, "Don't let him reach this clearing, kill him if you must!"

"Hai Zanbifushi-sama," said his nameless underling as he Shunshined out of the clearing to deliver his master's orders.

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Hatake Kakashi was bored. Oh so very bored. Why oh why hadn't he brought another issue from his Icha Icha collection, he had already read this one five times on this one mission alone. Oh well, there was no helping it now. He was on his way back to Konoha now and should end up arriving in another day or so, but it would be a very long day without a new, or at least not recently read, copy of Icha Icha Paradise, to keep him occupied. He had been suffering his lack of entertainment so much that he had even rushed to complete his mission, making all appointments in his diplomatic mission on time in hopes of being able to get home sooner. In the end, it was all for nothing however, as it still took several weeks to complete his examination of the small village he was sent to.

Now he was traveling through the trees to deliver his report back to the Hokage. He had really hoped for some kind of action or something on this last solo mission he would have for a long while. Once he got back he would have to prepare his training schedule for the Genin team that he had been assigned to by the council of Konoha. He was not exactly happy about his situation, but he didn't have any choice, seeing as he was the only one who could train the last of the Uchiha clan to use his Sharingan. Kakashi was quickly jerked out of his musings by a small burst of chakra.

"Well, that was odd," Kakashi thought out loud, "who could be all the way out here in the middle of nowhere, maybe I should check it out." He quickly changed his course and began heading toward the small chakra flare he had sensed, slowing and dropping to the ground as he neared the source.

It wasn't long before he heard a voice coming from the trees above him, "Halt trespasser," said a man of about medium build as he dropped into Kakashi's path, "you may not pass any farther."

"And may I ask why," Kakashi drawled immediately shifting into his uninterested voice.

"Your only option in this situation is to leave," said a second ninja, dropping down from the trees to flank Kakashi from the left.

"And if you fail to comply," said a third ninja as he dropped down to flank Kakashi's right side, "you will face the consequences." Then the three of them flared their KI as high as they could in an effort to intimidate the masked ninja.

Kakashi found himself in a very difficult situation. He was having so much trouble trying to keep from laughing at their pitiful display. He had felt higher KI coming from the Daimyo's wife's cat when it was on one of its wild attempts to escape the large woman's crushing embrace. Instead, the Jonin just shook his head and said, "I really think I should investigate any kind of disturbance this close to my village."

Kakashi saw that this caused the guards to tense, obviously expecting an attack and he began to analyze his targets. The first man was the obvious leader of the trio; he was dressed in a pair of black pants with several pockets going down the legs below a kunai holster on his hip. He had a dark green vest on over a black shirt and a katana sheathed across his back. The other two were dressed similarly, but without the katana, and from what Kakashi could sense they were all three below Chunin level, nowhere near a match for the Jonin.

Just as he finished his observations the leader of the sentries drew his sword and tried to cut Kakashi in half, only to get his sword stuck in a log as his target _Kawarimied_ away into the surrounding woods. "Do you three really think you can stop me if I want to continue?" Kakashi's voice echoed from everywhere around the three, who stood back to back in order to try to cover all angles, a foolish mistake. They failed to see Kakashi drop down from above and knock them all out with a single spinning kick.

Kakashi landed, "There is definitely something big going on around here," he mused as he continued on his former path. He soon saw a clearing ahead of him and slowed down until he came to rest in a tree at the edge of the clearing. Before him was a small boy lying on a stone table with a figure who was steadily emanating an ever increasing flow of chakra.

Kakashi uncovered his Sharingan eye to try and figure out what was going on. This had to be one of the most complex Jutsu that he had ever seen. He started moving over to the left so he could get a view of some of the hand signs being used and gasped at what he saw. The signs were almost going too fast for him to detect. This ninja must have amazing power to be able to make signs this fast and still let off this amount of chakra at the same time.

Then, Kakashi saw a hand sign he recognized. It was one commonly used as a finishing point for many forbidden Jutsu, a seal that stood for "demon". Then the man finished the seals on one that Kakashi didn't recognize and began to speak the name of the Jutsu, "_Kinjutsu – Tamashii Kirikaeru n__o__ Jutsu_!"

It was a forbidden style of Jutsu! And this man was using it on the boy; Kakashi could not sit by any longer.

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Hito had felt when his minions had flared their KI and stretched out his own senses to detect the intruder. When he found them it was only to be greeted with a surge of chakra as the unknown ninja had performed the _Kawarimi n__o__ Jutsu_ and quickly taken out the three sentries. Judging by the chakra levels, Hito estimated that this ninja was at least Jonin level. At his current age and level of chakra drain, the old ninja knew that he would not stand a chance, so he did the only thing he could do: begin the final transfer, and hope he got done in time.

The Jutsu itself required an immense amount of concentration not only for the hand seals, but also for the continuous and ever increasing amount of chakra that must be expelled in order to keep the energy field in the area constant, allowing for safe travel for his soul between the two bodies. Not only that, but the two hundred some seals required for the Jutsu must be performed in under one minute, which was very hard to do for even an expert ninja like Hito.

The old master stood at his place next to the boy and began focusing chakra to his hands. He would need a large amount of chakra to increase his hand speed and reflexes enough to manage this Jutsu, and so he pumped in as much as he could spare. Once he finished this first task, he began setting his chakra flow to release the necessary amount to form his protection field and then he made the first hand sign.

He always enjoyed this particular moment, the suspense, the power flowing through him with every sign he crafted as he molded the very forces of nature to do his bidding, and grant him renewed life, well sort of. He had reached the one hundred and twenty-fifth seal in about thirty seconds when he started to relax marginally, not enough for him to lose his focus on the job at hand, but enough that he could return to his full anticipation. It was too late for the intruder to stop the process now, it would be done in a matter of seconds, and then he could deal with the interloper at his leisure.

Then he reached the final seal and let out the last of his chakra in a final burst while calling out his Jutsu, "_Kinjutsu – Tamashii Kirikaeru n__o__ Jutsu_!" Then he felt the power take hold and begin to detach his soul from this body, severing the ties that had been established in his most recent vessel sixty-some years ago. Suddenly, he felt something was wrong, the field of protection had been disturbed and his hands hurt. Looking down he saw red, lots of red. Blood! There was blood rushing out of his hands around an object wedged through the center of his left hand, and continuing out the other side and into his right hand piercing his final hand sign. It was a kunai. Quickly Hito cut off the rest of the Jutsu and pulled as much of his chakra as he could out of the air and back into him. He needed to get this thing out of his hands and find the intruder, for there was no doubt in his mind that the Jonin was the one who had thrown the projectile.

He jerked his right hand off of the blade and used said hand to pull it out of his left before casting it to the ground in disgust, such a simple weakling's weapon. Hito had never much cared for kunai. He then used the remainder of the chakra focused in his hands to quick-heal himself before he lost too much blood. Once he finished his task he looked off to the left and extended his senses to search for the offending Shinobi.

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Kakashi was tense. He had thrown the kunai, not expecting it to work, but the instant it had passed into the aura of chakra around the older ninja, he sensed that he had somehow stopped it, that and the fact that the thrown dagger had pierced the old man's hands, which would definitely serve as a hindrance to his fighting and sealing efforts in the future. Then as Kakashi watched the man pulled the kunai out of his hands and healed them up with seemingly very little effort. And then, with a glare on his face to match that of Tsunade when you really pissed her off, the elder ninja turned and looked right at where Kakashi was sitting, hidden in the treetops.

"I know you are there, Jonin," the old man said, "you might as well come out now, before I have to flush you out." Seeing no real choice, Kakashi stepped out into the clearing that was now turning orange in the light of the setting sun.

"Who are you and what were you doing to that boy?" Kakashi demanded, scowling behind his mask with his Sharingan eye staring unerringly at the older ninja.

"I really don't think that you are one to be asking questions, seeing as you intruded on me and interrupted an extremely complex Jutsu that I will not be able to perform again for at least a month!" the old man ended his statement with an angry shout that startled birds in the trees into flight.

"I'm really sorry," Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head, "but you see, my conscience has this nasty habit of kicking in when I see young boys having forbidden Jutsu used on them. I really just don't know what came over me."

"Well, it doesn't matter now. I have learned in my long, long life that it is better not to dwell on what cannot be changed; however, I will have to ensure that your intrusion is not allowed to be repeated," The old man said, calm once again. Then he simply waved his arm out to his side and appeared to open up a tear in the air itself. When he drew his arm out of the "hole" he was holding a simple katana.

Kakashi sank down into a fighting crouch and drew another kunai from its holster, "Don't I even get the honor of knowing the name of my opponent before we fight?"

The old master laughed, "Very well then, you have the honor of facing off against one of the original ninja. I have been on this earth ever since the discovery of chakra and the uses it could be employed for. I am one of the first pioneers into the world of Ninjutsu and Genjutsu. I am Zanbifushi Hito!"

Kakashi's eyes narrowed. He had no idea who this man was, which made him an unknown, and therefore even more dangerous. He would have to be careful, even though this guy seemed to be more than a little crazy.

"Ah, I see you recognize my name." Hito smirked, misinterpreting Kakashi's look, "now then, seeing as I went along with your request, why don't you honor me with the same."

Kakashi readied himself for the fight to come, he would have to do some research when he returned to Konoha to see if this guy was telling the truth, or, like Kakashi expected, just blowing smoke, "I am Hatake Kakashi, also known as the Copy Ninja."

Hito's eyes grew slightly wider before returning to their normal size, "Well then it is really no surprise that my sentries did not manage to stop you, is it? To think, two of the most famous, or infamous, ninja in the world here in the same place, about to join in combat with each other, this will be fun!" As Hito spoke this last bit, he charged at Kakashi with his body held almost horizontally and his sword out to his side, preparing for a swipe at the copy ninja's side.

Using his Sharingan, Kakashi was able to dodge it but only barely, "this old guy is really fast," he thought as he dodged another slash, this time aimed at his head, "maybe he really is some kind of legendary ninja, it would certainly explain his speed and skill, but how could that be? Could he really be telling the truth?" After that he was left no time to think whatsoever.

Kakashi was forced to constantly remain on guard. The Jonin's seemingly elderly opponent was moving at an incredible pace, constantly slicing with his katana in the deadly dance that he was weaving. Left, right, down, left, jump, spin, land, _Kawarimi_, Kakashi barely had time to react to his opponent's attack, but managed to catch a quick breath as his opponent searched for him after chopping the log he replaced himself with in half.

Kakashi used his limited time to examine his opponent's style. He knew he had seen it somewhere before, but the question was, where. He remembered something about seeing another ninja from Konoha use his katana in a similar manner. Wait! That was it, Gekko Hayate, another Konoha Nin, used a katana when he fought and trained. Kakashi had seen him train before and Hayate used a similar Kenjutsu style to that which the old man was using. Maybe he could use that style to try to predict his opponent's moves, it might just give him the advantage he needed.

"Come on out, Kakashi of Konoha," Hito called when he could not immediately locate his target, "you cannot hide from me forever."

"And I have no intention to!" shouted Kakashi as he leapt from his hiding place and charged at Hito, carefully observing his stance in order to try to predict his movements.

"You fool," Hito smirked, "You should know by now that you cannot win this way."

After that, no more was said. The only sounds were those of grunts as attacks were thrown and the sliding grate of metal striking metal when the two ninja's weapons collided. The dance of death the two were performing had only gotten faster and even more risky now that Kakashi knew something about the fighting style being used against him. As it turned out, his opponent was only using a very minor variant of the basic Kenjutsu style Hayate used, which allowed Kakashi to predict his attacks and counter-attacks with a good amount of accuracy. He could take more risks now that he knew the methods that his opponent would use to counter his advances.

Slowly, as Kakashi began to score a few minor hits on the ninja elder, the battle began to turn in his favor. As the few small wounds began to take their toll, Hito began to panic. He began to make more wild swings with his sword, eventually swinging so hard he fell off balance, giving Kakashi the opening that he had been waiting for. He dashed forward and attempted to stab the old ninja into his neck, going for an instant kill, but Hito was able to block with his katana, but still received a small cut as the deflected attack grazed his cheek before he swung his sword in a wide arc.

Kakashi silently cursed as he missed his chance to finish the battle quickly and easily. He knew that he needed to get to the boy before it was too late. He may not know what the child's condition is, but that did not mean that he could take his sweet time. But he also needed to keep his wits about him, so as to not jump in too quickly. His last attack would have finished the battle in his favor, but when it failed, he almost lost his own life. But now was not the time for more thinking. He needed to keep extra thoughts out of his mind, and, in his experience, the best way to keep from thinking too much during battle was to press your advantage, so he once again readied his kunai and re-entered the fray, attempting to keep Hito off balance, which should help to end the battle quickly.

Hito was exasperated, he should be crushing this fool with ease, but he could not. Perhaps he simply did not have enough excess chakra after his failed soul transfer to force his aged body to fight at this pace for enough time to defeat his foe. After deciding on this conclusion, he deflected another of Kakashi's kunai swipes and leapt back, imbedding his sword in the ground when he landed.

"I must say," Hito said, trying not to reveal his weakness to his opponent, "I am really very impressed. Clearly the rumors about you were true, but your time ends now!" As these words were shouted the old man began to perform hand signs. Perhaps if he could end this quickly, he could have his other minions help him get to a safe place to recover and try his soul swap again when his strength returned. With these thoughts flowing through his head, he failed to see that Kakashi was copying his moves exactly.

Then with a triumphant cry Hito shouted, "_Katon: Gokakyu n__o__ Jutsu_," and opened his mouth, exhaling a large fireball, only to realize that Kakashi had used the same technique. The twin fireballs met each other between the two ninja and exploded violently sending debris everywhere. When the smoke cleared, Hito was making more seals, which Kakashi copied, much to the surprise of the elder man.

"How is he doing this?" Hito thought, confused as he finished his Jutsu and called, "_Suiton: __Suiryudan no__ Jutsu_," only to have Kakashi copy it yet again. As the two finished, water rose from the ground behind both of them and formed into two serpentine dragons, which then charged at each other and met the same fate as the last Jutsu the two used, and sent a light spray over the entire clearing. Then Hito heard something that only increased his annoyance. A groan, the boy was waking up.

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Kai had no idea where he was. The last thing he could remember was… actually he couldn't remember much of anything. The only thing he knew was his name, Wareta Kai. He slowly sat up and the first thing that he noticed was that he was on a very uncomfortable bed. No, scratch that, he was on a large chunk of rock in the middle of a clearing lit by the light of a sunset. The next thing that he noticed was that he was wet, very wet. And he had no idea how he got that way. Not that he had any idea about anything, but that was beside the point.

Suddenly Kai heard a shout from behind him, "Guard, restrain the boy, don't let him get away!" Kai turned to see an older guy standing about three yards away from him with another guy across the clearing facing them both. The old guy was panting heavily as he stared at the other man. He was dressed in a long robe looking outfit that was grey in color and a belt with a sword imbedded into the ground at his feet. Why would anyone put a sword in the ground, it didn't make any sense.

From what Kai could tell about the other man, he was dressed in a dark colored outfit with a dark green flak jacket. He also seemed to have a mask on over his face and a headband with a metal plate in the middle. He must be a ninja, but from what village, Kai couldn't tell. But just the fact that he knew that the headband meant that he was from a ninja village, which showed Kai that he was just missing memories of his own past, not that he knew nothing at all. Somehow, Kai didn't find this discovery very comforting.

Suddenly, the back of Kai's neck started tingling; it felt like there was something behind him. He turned around just in time to see a person dressed in dark green clothing land behind him and attempt to grab him. He just managed to duck under the man's arms only to have his foot come up and strike the boy in the chin. Kai tasted blood as his jaw was slammed shut by the other man's foot.

"Fool," the man said, as Kai fell back holding his face, "you should have just given in, it would have been easier on you." The man then reached down to grab Kai again, only to see his eyes open again, "hmm, still conscious huh?" Well I will have to fix that," the man then proceeded to beat Kai as much as possible, attempting to knock him out quickly so he could go to the aid of his master.

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All the while, Kakashi and Hito were continuing their battle, always using the same Jutsu, while Hito just got more and more frustrated, then after another round of Jutsu, ending with _Katon: Karyu Endan_it finally got to him, "How is this happening, it is almost like he is…"

"…Reading my mind," Kakashi said at the same time as Hito causing the older ninja to stop, wide eyed.

"H-how did you do that?" Hito stuttered, "How did you know…"

"…Exactly what I was going to say," Kakashi copied again, only serving to send Hito further still into insanity.

Hito sensed that his guard had approached the boy, so he no longer had to dwell on that problem. But there was this extremely odd opponent. He seemed to be able to read his thoughts, which would prove to make any battle difficult, but when you add in the fact that Hito was severely drained after the failed ritual, Hito knew that he was in serious trouble. The only thing he could hope for now was for his guard to subdue the boy and come to his aid, and then there may be a chance that this mind-reading ninja could be overcome.

Then Hito felt a huge chakra surge behind him. He was caught off guard and instinctively turned to see what was going on. The surge had been way too powerful for his guard to have released it, at least not all at once. But the boy's chakra was untapped, so he could not have released it, could he? Just as Hito's eyes fell on the scene before him he felt another, smaller chakra surge behind him, in the direction of his opponent. How could he have been so stupid? As these thoughts and questions flew across his mind he felt darkness engulf him as Kakashi struck him on the back of the head, sending him into unconsciousness.

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Kai was in immense pain. He had brought his arms up to protect his face, but he was sure that they were broken by now, they just hurt that much. He had never felt this much pain in his whole life, or at least he didn't think he had. He still couldn't remember anything, not that he thought that extreme pain would help in the first place.

His entire world right now was the pain that he felt, which only increased every time the guard struck him. Kai's arms were bleeding very badly from various blows and cuts struck with the ninja's fist and kunai as the man attempted to weaken him enough to force the boy into unconsciousness. Kai was beginning to black out. It would not be long now before the man achieved his goal, and both Kai and his attacker knew it.

As Kai's vision began to dim and the blackness began to creep in from the outside of his vision, he saw a light. It was a fascinating thing. Just a simple white light, how curious that a light like that would just be there. Maybe he should reach for it. But wait; there was another light in the other direction. This one was a sort of light blue color. Well now, that is certainly different. Maybe he should reach for this one instead. Yeah, that sounded like a good idea, white lights at the end of a dark tunnel were bad, he didn't know why, but white lights were always bad. But blue lights, well those he wasn't sure about. Maybe he could be the first one to discover what blue lights at the end of black tunnels meant. Yeah, that might be fun. Sure, why not, let's reach for the blue light.

As Kai slowly drifted closer and closer, the strange light began to grow and take shape. He saw a figure standing with its head down and an arm over its shoulder grasping a sword hilt. As Kai stood/floated transfixed, watching and reaching still for the blue light that was morphing before his eyes into the figure standing in front of him, it raised its head up and looked Kai in the eyes. Kai gasped at the sight before him. The eyes were pure white except for a small, black three-pointed star revolving slowly around a central point where the pupil would have been with three dots, one between each prong of the star, orbiting around the same point as the star. As Kai looked into those eyes he felt something begin to stir within himself. Kai felt warmth grow within him, filling a place he never knew existed, but it was a feeling that he knew he would never be complete without now that he had experienced it once. As he sank into the blue-light figure and absorbed its power into his being he felt strong, he felt confident, he felt….extreme pain.

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Kakashi was feeling pretty good. He was winning his battle. Sure Hito probably thought that they were equally matched, but that was only because Kakashi did not want to hurt the boy by going too far overboard. He noticed the guard attacking him, but couldn't do anything about it. Sure his opponent was weakened, but that did not mean that he was defenseless. So he would simply have to finish this quickly so that he could save the poor child.

Just as he was about to make his move he felt a great power surge that was coming from where the boy and his attacker were. At first Kakashi paled thinking that this guard of Hito's was strong enough to take out Kakashi, but then he paled even more, this time in fear and worry, when he realized that this was the raw chakra of the boy, who was lying near death, being unleashed all at once, probably for the first time.

There are two main ways that people learn to access their chakra supplies. One is that they are simply born with access to it, either through an affinity to chakra within their family line, or else through a wild card dealt to them by Kami-sama which can bring a ninja out of a family that has spent the last seven generations as simple rice farmers. Then there are those who find their chakra when they are near death and use it to save themselves. The problem with finding your power this way is that usually it happens too late in life for the individual to be able to train it to do what they wish like a ninja needs to. Most of these people simply learn control so as to keep their unrestrained chakra from destroying everything around them.

As Kakashi watched in horror the boy began to glow with blue energy as the chakra output became strong enough to create a visible field. It was not until this point that the guard realized what was happening and tried to get away but to no avail. As he prepared to leap back a tendril of chakra whipped out and struck him across the knees, causing him to crumple to the ground in a whimpering slump. At this point all was lost for the guard, and both he and Kakashi knew it. During this time, Kakashi noticed, Hito had been slowly turning in surprise to see what was causing the outburst of chakra, and the Konoha Nin saw his opening.

With a small burst of chakra to get his momentum going Kakashi dashed forward with kunai in hand toward Hito's exposed back. Just as he reached the old man, his target started to turn back to defend himself, but was just a little too slow, as Kakashi struck him on the back of the head with the butt of his kunai, sending him down in an unconscious heap. Suddenly, with a final burst of chakra even larger than the ones before, the clearing was filled with blinding blue-white light and the boy began to scream in pain as his chakra canals were quickly flooded with raw power, causing them to burn in protest at the sudden influx of energy.

When the light dimmed and Kakashi removed his protective hand from his face he was met with a scene of destruction. The stone table that they boy had been lying on was still relatively intact, except for black burn marks all over the surface. The grass near the rock was completely disintegrated, as was any other object smaller or less dense than the large rock. This included the guard that had been pummeling the boy. He was nothing more than a pile of ash now, even his metal weapons had been reduced to nothing. It wasn't that the boy was particularly powerful, above average maybe, but not exceptionally powerful, it was just that all his chakra exploded out at once. The boy was lucky to still be in once piece. Kakashi shook his head sadly; he would have a very hard life now. Almost constant training in things he could never understand, and probably never even dreamed of having to understand. Oh well, there was no sense in seeing what Kami-sama decided as being unfair. It was done, and that was all that mattered.

With a small grunt Kakashi stood back up from his defensive crouch, stepped over the unconscious but still relatively unhurt body of Hito, and picked up the limp form of the boy from the top of the table where he had once again fallen unconscious. Kakashi flung the body over his shoulder and looked back at Hito once again, memorizing his facial features for his report when he got back to Konoha.

"Maybe this trip wasn't so boring after all," Kakashi said before pulling his hitai-ate down over his forehead and quickly moving away with a chakra powered jump that brought him quickly back to his original path toward the village of Konoha. Maybe, just maybe, the boy will be able to stay alive long enough for them to get back so the medics could save his life. Maybe….. he will be lucky……….

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AN: Well I hope you liked the first chapter. I have been planning this story for a while, and I am fairly satisfied with how the first chapter turned out.

Now, here is the Chapter 1 Jutsu List:

_Kikou Saseru no Jutsu:_ Memory Transfer Technique

_Kikou Mippei Suru no Jutsu, Kohyo Suru, _'_Kai_': Memory Sealing Technique, Release Word, 'Kai'

_Kinjutsu: Tamashii Kirikaeru no Jutsu: _Forbidden Technique: Soul Transfer Technique

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu: _Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Suiton: __Suiryudan no Jutsu: _Water Style: Water Dragon Blast Technique

_Katon: Karyu Endan: _Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Missile

_Kawarimi no Jutsu_: Body Replacement Technique

Thanks for reading my story, please review so I can see how I'm doing.


	2. Chapter 2

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Chapter 2

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Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto.

AN: Here is the second chapter in my fic. I hope you enjoy.

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The Sandaime Hokage was frustrated to say the least. Not only did he have a huge mountain of paperwork that never seemed to get any smaller, or even stop growing for that matter, but Hatake Kakashi had just brought in a boy that he reportedly saved from a potential missing Nin of unknown origin and power. If his report was anything to go by, Kakashi fought this man, who said he was named Zanbifushi Hito, after he was severely drained by attempting a forbidden jutsu on the young boy. With that being the case, there really is no telling how strong the man really was, or, at the other end of the scale, if he was even a threat at all.

Sarutobi sighed; sometimes he didn't know why he liked this job so much. The paperwork alone was enough to drive most people crazy, maybe that was it, maybe he was just crazy. No he wasn't crazy, he was insane, or maybe just getting too old to do this job anymore. He had taken the job again after the Fourth Hokage died, the poor man. He had never really wanted to become Hokage again, but he did have a duty to protect the people of the village. But he really hadn't missed this part of the job.

The old man sighed again and picked up the tardy Jonin's report to re-read it for the seventh time saying quietly, "I just hope the poor boy is alright."

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Kai woke up, very sore, and very confused. He was in a white room, lying on a white bed, while the sun shone brightly outside of the nearby window with, you guessed it, white curtains. He was dressed in only a flimsy hospital gown, and felt very vulnerable. What was going on? The last thing he remembered was that masked guy fighting the old guy, and then the other guy came up and started beating him, then something about a blue light, then pain, a lot of pain. He struggled to remember anything else, and started to panic before he remembered that he couldn't remember anything about his life before the fight the first time he woke up. But that didn't really help

Was it possible that he was actually safe? Or did the mean old guy just take him somewhere more secure. Kai didn't know why, but he got a certain feeling of unease from the old man that just didn't come from anyone else. There had also been a feeling of safety when he saw the masked ninja, as if he knew that that man was there to help him out, and save him from the apparently evil old guy. But what if the masked ninja had failed? If the old man really did have him captive, did he stand any chance of avoiding whatever terrible, and probably painful, fate that waited for him when they found out he was conscious?

He sighed; his life was getting very complicated. Or at least he assumed it was getting more complicated than it had been before he lost his memory. Or did he even lose his memory, could he have simply been created by the old guy? Was it possible that he was not even a natural human? All this second-guessing himself was making his head hurt, so he laid back down into the comfortable embrace of his pillows, attempting to relax before he heard the doorknob turn.

Instantly he was alert, and tense, before forcing himself to relax and feign sleep. Maybe he could get the jump on the old man's guards this time, and get away before they hurt him any more. Yeah, that was a good plan, wait until the guard got close enough, then tackle them, and try to hit them over the head with something to knock them out. Then try to escape before anyone realized that he was gone.

Wow, the first time he woke up he had felt really groggy but not really much else, but now he seemed to be some kind of survival expert. Maybe that is what he was before he lost his memory, maybe he really was a normal person, but he just had amnesia.

Oh well, he had no time to try and figure it out now, the person was coming through the door. No wait, not person, _people_, damn. That would complicate things. Another target would mean that he would have to move faster in order to get both of them before the second one could sound the alarm and get more back-up. Then he would be royally screwed, he might be able to take care of one enemy, maybe even two if he pushed it, but there was no way he could take any more than that.

"….Like I said Kakashi-san, the boy is physically fine, we were able to repair his chakra coils and reinforce them so that he can learn to control his chakra, and even might be able to use it like any normal child of his age if he works hard at it," said a female voice as the two people entered Kai's small hospital room. He had turned so that his back was to the door when they entered, no use in letting his face give him away by tensing up while the two talked.

"So," said the drawling male voice of the one named Kakashi, "there is nothing wrong with him then?"

"Well," said the female again, "nothing physically…" she trailed off.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, like I said, physically he is fine, but," she faded away again, seeming confused before saying," he seems to have some kind of seal on him, two seals in fact one on the outside of his body, and the other that seems to be sealing away some kind of information in his head. Both seals are very complex, the most difficult I have ever seen, but the only difference in them is that the one on his body is slowly, but constantly, deteriorating."

"The seal on his body makes sense," Kakashi said slowly, sounding like he was leaning up against the wall at the foot of Kai's bed, "when I first came upon the clearing, the boy was lying on a stone table with a very complex seal drawn all over his chest. I assume that it was done by the old man, but he might have done something else to him before I got there. Is there anything you can do about it?"

"We are really afraid to try," the woman said slowly, "when the doctors first found it, one of them tried to examine it more closely and found that it might not be possible for us to remove it. If we tried and failed, or removed it the wrong way, we could permanently damage the child's mind." Kai was confused, it sounded like these two people were concerned for him. One of them seemed to be a nurse or something at this hospital, while the other was actually, genuinely, concerned about his welfare. The old evil guy wouldn't be worried about him, would he? So then why would his henchmen…-women….-people….yeah.

"I see," the ninja seemed deep in thought, "well then, is it doing any damage to him at all?"

"No," the nurse answered immediately, "as far as we can tell, the seal is only holding back some kind of information, perhaps a memory, or something like that." Kai jumped slightly, before relaxing again, hoping that the other two people in the room didn't notice. So that was why he didn't remember anything! The old guy must have used a memory seal, whatever that was, on him before he did whatever else it was that he did. Of course, it all makes perfect sense now, sort of…..

"Well then," Kakashi started, noticing the slight change in the position of the 'sleeping' figure on the bed next to him, "We will just have to see what its function is before we try anything else. If it comes down to it, we can try to contact Jiraiya and see if he can help with removing it, but if you don't think that it will be any trouble, then we shouldn't have to worry about that."

"Well if you have no further need of my assistance Kakashi-san, I have other patients to see to," The nurse said as she exited the room, leaving Kai alone with Kakashi.

"So," Kakashi said slowly after a few minutes, "are you going to drop the act and talk to me, or are we going to stay here like this all day?"

Kai stopped breathing. This Kakashi person knew he was awake; he must have seen him flinch earlier. Well, Kai was in for it now, but wait, if they had wanted him dead, he would have been dead by now. They could have killed him when they first entered the room, while his back was turned, and he would not have been able to do anything to stop them. And then there was the strange feeling he was getting that these people were actually concerned about him.

Well, nothing ventured, nothing gained. With a small grunt, and a groan of pain as his stiff muscles complained at the sudden movement, Kai pushed himself up and turned so he was sitting in the center of the bed facing Kakashi.

"So," Kakashi drawled, "what's your name?"

"Wareta Kai," he said slowly, still a little wary of the strange masked man.

"Nice to meet you," Kakashi said, noticing the boy's unease, "I am Hatake Kakashi."

"You are the one who was fighting the old guy, aren't you," Kai said suddenly.

Kakashi was slightly taken aback before smiling and saying, "Yeah, that was me, and 'the old guy' was called Zanbifushi Hito. Do you know what he was doing to you? Anything you can tell me might help you out in the long run."

Kai shook his head sadly, "No, I can't remember anything from before I woke up except for my name. I don't even know where I came from," he was rambling now as the sadness began to well up within him," My parents, my home, any siblings or other relatives, friends, enemies, anything! I don't remember anything!" Kai collapsed onto the bed, crying as his situation fully hit him for the first time.

Kakashi was slightly startled, now wishing that the nurse had remained in the room, she would probably have done a better job helping the poor child than he could. He had never been especially good with kids. Awkwardly, he walked over and sat next to the boy, who looked up after feeling the bed shift. Kakashi slowly reached over and rested his hand on Kai's shoulder, "Hey, calm down. Everything will be alright, even if you don't remember anything about your past. You have my promise that I, along with everyone else here in Konohagakure, will do our best to help you find out what happened to you. And in the meantime you will soon find yourself too busy to worry about that anyway," Kakashi finished with a smile only recognizable by a slight squinting of his visible eye.

Kai sniffled slightly, "And why is that?"

"Because," Kakashi said matter-of-factly, "you are going to be enrolled in the ninja academy here to help you with your chakra control. You might even be able to become a ninja here, although it will be harder for you because you are rather late coming into your training. But the Hokage, that is our village leader, believes that you may not be too late, and if you work hard, you could even graduate this year, maybe not at the top of the class, but you will still be a ninja."

"I'm going to be a ninja?" Kai asked, slightly puzzled, "I'm going to be a ninja. I'm going to be a ninja!" Kai began jumping up and down on the bed in celebration. He didn't know why, but he felt like he had just had his dream come true. Maybe he could remember some things about his past life, just only when something triggered them.

"Well," Kakashi said, slightly startled at the boy's antics, "you sure seem to be excited."

"Kakashi-san," Kai said suddenly, slightly out of breath from his celebrating, "I think that being a ninja has always been a dream of mine, I mean from before I lost my memory. I think you telling me that made some of my memory return! So now I have two things to celebrate! I'm going to be a ninja, and I remembered something!"

Kakashi laughed quietly, this was certainly something to inform the Hokage about. His memory might be sealed away, but it definitely was not a perfect seal. Certain events could trigger a small memory release in the boy, but that did not mean that they had found the cure for him. It was a small victory, yes, but they could spend his entire lifetime trying to get him to experience things that would awaken his dormant memory. However, Kakashi didn't want to point this out to the boy, as it would squash his enthusiasm, and he would definitely need that enthusiasm in order to be able to learn enough in the next few weeks to be able to control his chakra, much less to graduate with his age group in a month and a half.

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Kai was nervous, very nervous. He was following Kakashi down a long hallway in a building that he had been told was the Ninja Academy of Konoha. He nervously picked at his new clothes that Kakashi had taken him to pick out after he had been released from the hospital. He was wearing a pair of slightly baggy black pants, with dark purple stripes running down the outside and the bottom half of his legs and feet wrapped in black bandages while he wore ninja-style sandals. His shirt was a long sleeved item, black once again, with some dark purple at the end of his sleeves, where they were pinned to his wrists by a pair of black wrist bands, and more purple circling around his waste and back extending about halfway up from where his shirt was tucked into his black belt. He had a weapon pouch on his right hip and a kunai holster on his left, but they were both empty since he was not allowed to have any weapons on school property unless they were for classes.

Kakashi had realized that he already had some kind of an idea about what he wanted to wear when he had taken him shopping that day. It seemed that he may have remembered something else from his past without realizing it, but, in order to prevent another outburst like at the hospital, he had decided against pointing this out to the boy if he didn't realize it on his own. The only other thing that he noticed was that Kai had picked out another set of clothes which probably would have looked better than his current purple and black outfit, but he flat out refused to wear them yet, which only served to confuse Kakashi. It may have been some kind of traditional family dress, some clans all wore the same, or similar, outfits when they became ninja, and had different designs for different levels of training and skill. After deciding that that must be it, Kakashi had just bought several of each of the outfits that Kai had requested with a fund that the Hokage had set aside for orphans like Kai who wanted to join the academy, and then proceeded to find him a place to stay.

The had found a small apartment that was still within the fund's budget and had the few necessary things for Kai to live, basically just a kitchen and a bedroom, but it did not have to be fancy. They spent the rest of the fund that they had on food and an alarm clock, which, Kakashi assured him, he would learn to appreciate, if he didn't smash it first. That night he had discovered two more things about Kai. The first thing was that he was a really good cook. This boy seemed to have some kind of natural skill because, after insisting that he cook dinner to repay the Jonin, Kai had presented one of the best tasting meals that Kakashi had ever eaten outside of a big restaurant. The second was that this boy really, really, liked chicken.

"Well," Kakashi had said after the young ninja student had finished his third serving, finishing off all that he had cooked besides what Kakashi had eaten while Kai was focused on his food so as to prevent the boy from seeing under Kakashi's mask, "at least we know what your favorite food is now." What had followed this statement was Kakashi hurriedly grabbing the plates off the table as Kai had once again began celebrating another memory recovered and nearly flipping the table over.

That had happened two days ago, and now Kakashi was leading the nervous boy to his new classroom. They both knew that the Hokage had explained to Iruka about Kai, so they would be expected, but that did nothing to lessen the boy's nerves. The only thing that Kakashi was worried about was if Kai was ready to enter the class. Kakashi had spent the entire previous day helping Kai with meditation and low level chakra control techniques and found that it seemed to come to him naturally, but those were just the exercises, he would still have to fight to gain his chakra control that most academy students had naturally. Kai would have to work hard to gain enough control for even the simplest of Jutsu.

When Kakashi had tried to make an analogy when the boy was having trouble grasping the idea, he had told Kai, "Your chakra supply is like a huge lake. At one end of the lake you have a spring that is constantly filling it, but only up to a certain point. When the lake gets so full, the spring stops filling it. This represents your body's natural chakra restoration. At the other end of the lake, there is a dam. This dam represents your focus and chakra control. Right now, that dam is unable to control the flow of water that goes through it once the flood gates are open. You need to learn to stem the flow of water, or chakra, through the flood gates so that you can use it to perform different Jutsu. If you were to try to perform a low level Jutsu, one that didn't require much chakra, with out a high enough level of control, you would overload the Jutsu with chakra, making it overly-powerful and more likely to fail and even backlash upon yourself and your teammates; not to mention that it would drain you much faster and therefore make you less effective in battle. Essentially you need to reinforce the dam's strength so that you don't end up releasing most or all of your chakra every time you try to use it like you did back in the clearing." This caused Kai to wince as he remembered the pain he had felt then before nodding to show that he understood what Kakashi was saying.

Kai had been able to begin to control his chakra by causing a leaf to float a few inches above his hands, but that never lasted for more than a few seconds before his chakra levels shot up suddenly, causing Kai to shut off the flow quickly, making the leaf shoot several feet into the air due to the burst, followed by it slowly drifting back down to the floor when Kai cut it off. However, even though his attempts had not been perfect, Kai had improved drastically, and Kakashi was sure that Kai would be able to prevent his chakra from going wild again and hurting anyone around him.

Kai was not quite as sure, but he trusted Kakashi's judgment. The masked Jonin had become a mentor to the young student these last few days, if not a father figure. Even though that could be because of the fact that the only other people Kai had associated with during that time was the nurse that discharged him and the Hokage, but he had only seen them for a few minutes each and not again since then. Kai was nervous about his fist day of classes, not only because of what he was doing, but also because he did not know what people would think of him. He was nervous about meeting new people. Kai decided he must have been very shy when he was younger.

Before he knew it, and long before he felt ready, Kakashi stopped in front of a door and Kai, lost in his thoughts, only barely noticed in time to keep from running into him. "Well," Kakashi said once Kai had settled down again after their near collision, "are you ready?"

"No," Kai said quickly, "but I want to get this going. I only have so long to learn enough to graduate right? So, the sooner I get into this class the better off I will be."

Kakashi smiled at Kai's determination and knocked on the door to the classroom and waited. From within the Jonin heard an acknowledgement from Iruka and opened the door to lead Kai into his new classroom.

"Iruka," Kakashi said, smiling still, "this is the boy the Hokage told you about."

"Of course Kakashi," Iruka said, slightly surprised that his new charge would arrive this early, "I will take care of him from here."

"Alright, "Kakashi said, then, turning to Kai quietly said," don't worry, you will be fine," and patted his shoulder as he walked out, closing the door behind him.

Kai was slightly tense, but slowly regained control of himself and looked around. He was in a typical tiered classroom with a large desk at the front where he was at with a chalkboard behind him. In front of him, the classroom began to rise up in different levels with students sitting at long tables on each level. Each level was full of students until you got up to the back where there were several empty seats, all around a boy wearing a blindingly bright orange and blue jumpsuit.

"Class," Kai came out of his thoughts in time to hear Iruka, no Iruka-sensei, say to the gathered students, "this is our new student I told you all about. His name is Wareta Kai. He recently arrived in this village with Hatake Kakashi and will be joining us for an undetermined amount of time." There was a chorus of greetings coming from a few of the students while others simply looked too bored to respond, or even pay attention for that matter.

"Kai," Iruka continued, "you can take one of the seats in the back next to….NARUTO! WAKE UP!" Iruka's head grew to several times its normal size as he shouted before he threw an eraser at the offending academy student Kai had noticed earlier. Kai watched as the projectile flew in an arc before landing soundly on the boy's head sending up a small puff of chalk dust and waking the boy up.

"Hey," the boy called Naruto said, sounding irritated, "what was that for Iruka-sensei."

"You were sleeping again Naruto," Iruka said, seething slightly.

"Oh, whoops." Naruto said scratching his head and laughing slightly.

"….Never mind," Iruka said sighing, "Kai, please take a seat and we will continue with the history lesson."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei," Kai said quietly and began to walk up the stairs toward the back of the classroom, constantly aware of the eyes of the other students trained on him as he walked up to the back of the classroom to take a seat next to Naruto.

"Hi, I'm Uzumaki Naruto," the orange clad student said quietly after Iruka had turned back to the board to continue his lecture.

"Wareta Kai, "Kai responded quietly, his attention on Iruka, trying to hear what he was saying, knowing he had to do well if he wanted to achieve his dream. Naruto, seeing that the other boy was busy trying to hear Iruka talk, decided that he must be like everyone else and just saw him as a loudmouth who wasn't worth their time. Naruto sighed inwardly, oh well, it was worth a shot.

Kai felt kind of bad. It seemed fairly obvious to him that this Uzumaki Naruto was not well liked, simply because of the empty seats that were only around him. He should not have been so short with him; the boy was only trying to be nice. Kai resolved to make it up to him and try to get him to talk during morning break. Maybe, if he was lucky, he could make his first friend today.

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Morning break came and all the students moved outside into the training yard. Kai followed the throng of students, trying the entire time to find Naruto and apologize for his earlier behavior. Then, one the group got outside, Kai saw him, slightly apart from the rest of the group, sitting on a swing under a large tree directly across from the entrance to the academy. Naruto seemed lonely, then suddenly perked up as he noticed that he was being observed. Naruto put on a goofy smile and waved to Kai, who awkwardly waved back before starting to walk over to him.

Just then Kai heard a voice behind him, "Hey, new kid," Kai turned around to see a somewhat fat boy with a green coat and some kind of blue hat on with parts of his hair sticking out of two holes in the top. The boy was holding a bag of chips tightly in his hand while the other hand seemed to have only recently stopped shoveling the bag's contents into his mouth, "I'm Akimichi Choji, and this is Nara Shikamaru." Only then did Kai notice the other boy standing behind and slightly to the side of Choji. He was wearing a black jumpsuit with a gray vest-jacket over the top. His hair was bundled up in the back leaving the ends of it to spike up and out over his head, giving Kai the impression of a pineapple.

"Uh, hi," Kai said, slightly taken aback by the sudden appearance of the two boys, "my name is Wareta Kai. It's nice to meet you."

"So, where are you from?" Choji asked after a short silence, attempting to break the ice between the three of them.

"I, uh," Kai said, it looked like it was now or never, he just hoped that they didn't think anything less of him after he told them, "I don't know. Kakashi rescued me from a man named Zanbifushi Hito, who did something to me, I really don't know what, and because of him, I can't remember anything."

The two boys were silent for a moment, causing Kai's heart to drop, before Shikamaru said, "Well that certainly is troublesome. So you can't remember anything?"

Smiling slightly in relief that they weren't excluding or ignoring him, "I can't remember anything except my name. Every now and then something I do will trigger a memory, but never anything big. So far it has just been my favorite food, and that I have always wanted to be a ninja, and maybe something that helped me choose my clothing, but I am not really sure."

"Wow, that sounds tough," Choji said during a pause in his systematic destruction of the contents of his chip bag, "well if you ever need anything, you can ask either of us or any of our friends."

"Oh, OK," Kai said, slightly surprised by their friendly actions, "Who are they, if I may ask."

"Not a problem," Choji said, "Over there is Inuzuka Kiba and his dog Akamaru," he pointed to a boy wearing a blue-grey coat and grey pants with black hair and a small white dog next to him, "and then there is Aburame Shino," Choji pointed to a boy in a high collared white trench coat sitting under a tree off to the side of the yard, "and there is Uchiha Sasuke, but I don't really know if you could call him a friend, more of an acquaintance, he is not very friendly," he finished pointing to a boy in a blue coat and white pants leaning up against the school building.

"Over there, trying not to be too obvious about how she is staring at Naruto is Hyuga Hinata," Shikamaru picked up where Choji had left off, pointing over to a girl with dark purple hair and white eyes wearing a light tan coat with a white bottom and dark blue pants. She was standing off to the side, staring toward the still smiling Naruto, poking two of her fingers together and blushing slightly. "And those two over there staring at Sasuke are Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, who also happens to be the one who 'asked' us to come over here to talk to you," Shikamaru finished, pointing this time over to girls who were being even more obvious than Hinata. The only difference was that they were staring at the Uchiha who seemed completely oblivious to their attention. The one Shikamaru named as Sakura had long, pink hair that was held back by a headband and was wearing a Kimono that was mostly pink with a little white trim. The other one had hair so blonde that it was almost white which was mostly held back in a long ponytail except for one bunch that fell down in front of her face. She was wearing a purple kimono with white sleeves that only covered her forearms with bandages being used as a belt and showing through the split in her kimono.

"What exactly do you mean by Ino 'asking' you to come over here?" Kai asked, slightly confused.

"Well," Choji started, only to be interrupted by Shikamaru.

"She is troublesome," he said simply, "she basically told us to come over here and introduce ourselves and her, and then added in everyone else as an afterthought as we were walking away. She does that a lot; ordering us around, I mean."

"Yeah," Choji nodded, "pretty much."

"Ah, I see," Kai paused, and then said, "So, what is the deal with Naruto. Earlier he seemed kind of sad before he saw me looking. Does he do that often?"

"I don't think he realized that anyone notices, but yeah, he does," Choji said, looking a little sad.

"We try to be his friends, and he normally seems fairly happy, but we see him like this all the time," Shikamaru said, looking toward the orange clad boy, "We really don't know much about him though, other than that he lives on his own, and is a notorious prankster."

"OK, thanks guys," Kai said, nodding, "I think I am going to try to talk to him. See you back in class." With that, Kai continued walking toward Naruto as he sat on the swing, his smile had faded when he saw Kai was talking to Choji and Shikamaru, but it returned the instant that he saw Kai approaching.

"Hey," Naruto said, scratching the back of his head again.

"Hi," Kai responded, but hesitated before continuing, "I think I owe you an apology. I might have seemed a little short with you earlier when you introduced yourself in class. I wasn't trying to be mean; I was just trying to pay attention. You see, this is the first time I have ever been in a ninja academy of any kind, and I have to at least learn to control my chakra before the year is out. If not, then I will have to wait another year to fulfill my dream."

"Your dream?" Naruto asked, becoming interested.

"Yeah," Kai continued, "I can't remember anything from my earlier childhood except for a few things, and one of those things is that I always dreamed of becoming a ninja. I would really like to fulfill my dream as soon as possible, but I am really behind and I need to do whatever I can to catch up. Otherwise I won't be able to graduate for another year."

Naruto just sat there for a minute, seeming to take in everything Kai had said. When the silence stretched on for more than a minute he mumbled another apology as a way of excusing himself and turned to walk away, thinking that his attempt to make things up to the blonde had failed. Then, just as he took his first step away, he heard Naruto speak quietly, "You know," he said slowly, "I have a dream too. I have always been scorned and ignored by this village; some even hate me for some strange reason. I have always been looked down upon and people have thought me to be just a failure, never able to do anything right. But I have a dream too. I will show them what I can do, what I am made of. I will prove them all wrong. I will show them that I can become a great ninja, the greatest ninja. I will become Hokage!"

Kai stopped and turned back to Naruto to see him standing up again, his stance radiating defiance toward the village and their unknown prejudice. Then Kai had an idea, "I'll tell you what," he said, gaining confidence as he went, "I need help with my ninja work. You need help proving the village wrong about you, for whatever reason they dislike you. So, why don't we help each other?"

"I appreciate the offer Kai," Naruto began, "but I am not exactly at the top of the class here. You could ask any other person here and they would probably be able to help you better than I can."

"You know," Kai said, looking intently at Naruto, "I don't think that that is true. You just said that your dream is to become the greatest of ninja; how can you do that without actually paying attention in class? I think that you are better at this stuff than you let on. I could tell that you were paying just as much attention to Iruka-sensei as I was during the lessons, you just didn't look like it."

Naruto laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head again," Well, I guess you caught me huh? Alright then, how about after class today we meet up and try to figure out how we can help each other OK?

"Awesome, but how about I tell you more about what I can remember about myself now?" Kai said, acting upon a whim. He felt that if he and Naruto were to become friends and were going to help each other achieve their dreams, then they should know about each other. The rest of the morning break was spent with Kai explaining his story to Naruto. He did not leave out any details, telling all he could remember, from Zanbifushi Hito to the blue light that changed into a human figure before engulfing him in pain.

When the morning break ended, Iruka was slightly surprised, but pleasantly so, to find that Naruto and Kai had become fast friends. Maybe they could help each other out quite a bit. Kai had a little over a month to get good enough to graduate, and Naruto had always had troubles in class, both the academic area and, to a lesser extent, the actual practical performance on Jutsu and ninja abilities, but Iruka knew that he was capable of doing better if he would just drop at least some of his idiot act. And Iruka was sure that it was an act. Naruto paid more attention than most of the other students in his class, and didn't really fall asleep in class as often as it appeared.

The Chunin sighed; things were going to get a lot more interesting in the next month. Yes, a lot more interesting indeed.

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AN: And there was chapter 2. I'm sorry about the lack of action in this chapter. I am afraid that it will be the first of many fillers to come, but I had to introduce the rest of the characters that we all already know, so I figured that the sooner I get that out of the way, the better. Also, another down side of the lack of action, there is also a lack of Jutsu. Not a single one, and although that did make the chapter easier to write, it also made it less fun. Oh well, the next chapter may not have any action, but it is a very important part of the story. I won't spoil any more than that though. Please read and review!


	3. Chapter 3

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Chapter 3

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Disclaimer: Last night I had a dream that I owned Naruto, and then I woke up and realized that I still don't…darn.

AN: Chapter 3 coming up, enjoy!

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Kai was getting frustrated. He had only one week left before graduation, and even though Naruto had been helping him with his Ninjutsu, the orange clad student was not very good at Genjutsu, and Kai had a strange gift with Taijutsu. He even already had the strength and stamina to move and jump as a ninja must, almost as if he had already received some training, but he was still struggling with his original problem. He had terrible chakra control and so had trouble with all of the Ninjutsu and Genjutsu he tried to perform. He was beginning to get desperate, spending all his free time in meditation, trying to increase his control. He could now keep the leaf from flying away, but now his limitations rested with only being able to release a trickle of chakra or a flood, nothing in between. He could perform the simplest of Jutsu and the most costly very easily, not that he had a large repertoire to practice seeing as he was only an academy student, but he still couldn't even perform any of the mid level Academy Jutsu without completely messing up.

One example was on a day that Iruka was reviewing fire Jutsu and had taken them all out to try to use a simple Jutsu to create a small fireball that would be sent toward a target across the field. Kai ended up going last, since he was the latest to be enrolled in the class, and it turned out to be a good thing that he was. When he used the Jutsu, he tried to put only the required amount of chakra into it, but failed miserably. The Jutsu called for a small flow of chakra at first that was to be increased steadily. Even Naruto, with his less than adequate chakra control had been able to make a passable attempt at the jutsu, but Kai managed to do worse, and yet better, than anyone else. He had started with a small trickle of chakra, like he needed to, but when he began to increase the flow, his control faltered and the fireball grew until it was twice the size it was supposed to be before launching toward the target across the training yard and decimating it, leaving nothing but a pile of smoldering ash.

Iruka had been stunned and impressed at the same time, but could not give Kai a passing grade since he had lost control of his chakra, and also the Jutsu. It seemed to Iruka, and all the other students, that the arrival of Kai had caused Naruto to begin to excel, rising from his usual standard and leaving Kai to fill in his old place.

Kai had sighed, disappointed at his failure to control himself, but had gotten back at the end of the line so that they could move on immediately to kunai and shuriken throwing reviews, graduation time was approaching, and they were performing all the practical reviews that they could before the big day.

It was during one such review that Kai finally found his enthusiasm and hope running out. Naruto had improved drastically in the month since he and Kai had become friends, now no longer being the last place student. Now he was second to last, next to Kai. The only reason that Naruto was still so low was because he had simply not been trying for so long that no amount of sudden improvement could get him out of his hole, but Naruto didn't seem to care, He was just happy that he had someone who he could call a friend.

Kai, however, only got more and more irritated, if there was anything else that he had learned about himself in the last month; it was that he was easily irritated, but never quite angered. He still had trouble with controlling his chakra and couldn't manage to figure out why. Kakashi had even suggested that he try to practice maintaining continuingly larger flows of chakra so that he could learn to control it at all different levels, which Kai was doing, but it wasn't helping him fast enough for it to make much difference.

"In order to dispel most Genjutsu," Iruka was lecturing at the front of the room while Kai listened intently, hoping, although without much enthusiasm, that he could hear something that might help him with his chakra control problem, "the first step is to actually realize that you are in one. In a moment I will put you all under a simple Genjutsu that will cause your vision to blur. Most Genjutsu are not quite that obvious though, in fact, there are hardly any Genjutsu that are used that can be detected without careful observation. Anything that can be discovered so easily will usually not be used, because it will probably just be seen as a waste of chakra. Anyway, the second step is to draw out the proper amount of chakra. The chakra you use must be greater than or equal to the amount you sense in the air that is fueling the Genjutsu. The third thing you must do is concentrate the chakra into a small ball, you can do this by forming a hand sign, but it is not necessary. Once your chakra is concentrated, you then must speak the release word 'KAI' and release your hold on the chakra, allowing it to spread out and cancel the Genjutsu."

Several students slightly snickered at the instructions. It had not taken long for people to begin making fun of Kai, and the similarities between his name and the Genjutsu release was one of their favorite methods of irritation.

"Everyone ready?" Iruka said and waited for the chorus of 'Hai' from his students, "Ok then, here we go." Iruka then formed a few quick hand seals and mumbled a Jutsu. Just then Kai found that he couldn't see much of anything, only blurry forms. Kai sighed and began to try to sense the chakra in the air around him.

"Just my luck," Kai though, "it's just outside of my control level. Oh well, if I can't meet the level, I will have to exceed it." With that Kai began to focus his maximum level of chakra in order to dispel the Genjutsu. When he felt his chakra hit the required level, he began to mold it into a ball as instructed. For some reason, even though drawing on his chakra to get the proper amount was difficult for Kai, manipulating his chakra into the form he wanted was easy, which allowed him to control the super powered Jutsu that he unintentionally created when he lost control of his chakra flow; to a certain extent anyway. Kai had decided that he was a living paradox. He had skill in what most people found to be harder to do, mold his chakra even in large amounts, while the simpler of the two tasks, drawing on his chakra supply, gave him more frustration than he ever thought humanly possible.

Kai just sighed again, he knew he would eventually overcome his problem, even if it took the next several years or longer, but that didn't stop him from wanting it to end now! With a small smile of satisfaction Kai noticed that his chakra had been molded perfectly once again and prepared to release the Genjutsu around him.

"KAI!" the student said, triumphantly and watched expectantly as his vision began to clear. But then something strange began to happen, Kai began to get dizzy. Even as his vision cleared he began to get tunnel vision. Iruka noticed something was wrong with him. Kai had been the first student to release the Genjutsu, just as the instructor had expected, put he did not expect him to start acting like he was drunk. Kai was confused. Why was he here? Why was he sitting? What was going on? He stood up and immediately banged his knees on the underside of the desk, causing him to stumble and fall backwards, knocking over his chair in the process.

Iruka quickly jumped over the heads of the other students, most of who still could not see what was going on due to the Genjutsu, and landed next to the fallen boy, immediately picking up his head and checking to see if he was still alive. Kai had fallen unconscious, possibly from hitting his head when he fell, but it was possible that it had been caused by some other, unknown element, maybe even the same reason he was acting the way he was. Iruka didn't know what was going on, but he was going to do his part to help find out. Quickly telling his students to stay in the classroom until he returned, Iruka picked up the unconscious boy and leapt out of the open window, heading toward the hospital.

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Kai groaned as he woke up in the hospital for the second time in his short stay in Konoha. He lifted his hand to his head as he sat up, getting a little dizzy before the world stabilized around him again. He immediately heard a chair fall over next to his bed and turned quickly, maybe a little too quickly, to see Naruto jumping up and leaning over the side of his bed before Kai fell back down, dizzy again.

"Kai," Naruto said, slightly erratic, "are you ok?"

"Ugh," Kai groaned again, "I think so. What happened?"

"No one knows," Naruto said, relaxing slightly and picking up his chair before sitting down again, "Or at least no one is telling me what is going on. They had a few of the doctors check you out before I could get here, but they wouldn't tell me what the problem was when I got here, which was just about four hours ago. A while after I got here, Iruka-sensei and that Kakashi guy showed up and said that we didn't need to stay here all day and we left. Then Iruka-sensei treated me to some ramen. That lasted a few hours…. And then he asked me to come back here and… Oh! I was supposed to go get Iruka-sensei whenever you woke up. I'll be right back." With that, the orange clad boy ran out the door, leaving a very confused Kai still lying in his hospital bed. After about ten minutes passed, Kai heard the door open again and turned to see Naruto re-entering followed by Iruka and Kakashi.

"How are you doing Kai," Iruka said, concern written clearly on his face, "You scared us quite a bit when you passed out."

"I feel fine Iruka-sensei," Kai said, "but what exactly happened to me."

"Uh," Kakashi said, hesitantly, "this may be some overly sensitive information that you might not want everyone to know…." Kakashi glanced at Naruto, and Kai understood what he was getting at.

"Naruto already knows about Hito and everything that happened to me," Kai said, "He has been a lot of help to me, both with my school work and with settling in here. He has really been my only friend, and I would trust him with my life."

"Alright," Kakashi said, sighing a little, "It's your choice, not ours. Iruka, if you will?"

"Of course," Iruka said, coughing slightly, "When I first got you here, the doctors rushed us up to the examination room. After I explained that you had collapsed in class during a Genjutsu exercise, they began their evaluation. After a few minutes one of them began exclaiming, 'It's gone!' When I asked them what they were talking about, one of them explained about the two seals, one on your body, and one in your mind. They had expected the body seal to be completely deteriorated, which it was, but the real surprise was that the mind seal had also been dispelled. They guessed that it had been dispelled by the large amount of chakra you had used in the Genjutsu exercise, so in this case, your lack of chakra control was an asset. Anyway, Kakashi eventually arrived and Naruto showed up shortly after him, both of them wanting to see how you were doing. We waited a few more hours before the nurses became slightly irritated and took me aside, basically telling me that we had to leave. So, the three of us left, assured that we would be notified when you woke up." Iruka smiled as he finished and then looked to Kakashi to tell his part of the story.

"I was called in about twenty minutes after you arrived," Kakashi said, still in his drawling, semi-monotone voice, "The Hokage had apparently left and order that I be notified if you were brought back here. He probably felt that I had some kind of a stake in your welfare," Kakashi smiled slightly which caused Kai to smile as well, "By the time I arrived, they had already moved you here to recover. They said that nothing was wrong with you physically, just that the memory seal was gone. One doctor suggested that you may have passed out from information overload: a whole lot of information intruding on your conscious mind at once, which caused you to black out. It is similar to what happens when someone uses…"

"The _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_," Kai said suddenly, the name of the Jonin level forbidden Jutsu popping into his head, leaving the others stunned as he continued, "When someone uses the Jutsu to train, the information and experience gained by the clones is transferred to the original when they are voluntarily dispelled, sometimes causing information overload when used in mass numbers. This is possible because the clones get an equal share of the user's chakra, making them solid, although they are easily dispelled by attacks. What?" Naruto, Iruka and Kakashi were staring at him with surprised and, in the case of Naruto, awe filled looks on their faces.

"How did you know that?" Iruka said, "I know for a fact that you could not have learned that from any school resources. That Jutsu is forbidden!"

"The way you speak of it, it almost seems like you have used it before," Kakashi said quietly, "if you know this, what else do you know?"

"Can you teach me to use it?" Naruto asked, bright eyed at the thought of learning such a powerful technique.

"I really don't know how I know," Kai asked, suddenly seeming surprised at his matter-of-fact statement on the properties of the high-level Jutsu, "It just kind of popped into my head."

"Tell me something Kai," Kakashi said, suddenly seeming curious, "can you remember anything about your past now that the seal is broken? Anything at all that you didn't know before?"

Kai thought for a moment, "Well, other than being able to confirm that my favorite food is chicken in just about any form, my dream is to become a ninja, and that the clothes I chose are from my family's ninja ranking system, not really much at all. I have some images of a few faces that might be family, but everything else seems to be Jutsu information and short flashes of memories from someone much older, or at least," Kai blushed and barely fought back a nose bleed, "I hope they are from someone much older. Is it possible that my memories are still sealed away behind a second seal?"

Iruka shook his head, "The doctors checked your entire body, and found no other seals anywhere, not even in your mind."

Kai drooped a little, "So my memories are gone. Whatever Hito did to me, it seems that he erased my memories before Kakashi got there. That seal must have been restricting the few memories of my own I still had. But, if that is the case, then how do I have these memories now?"

"What if those memories you have about the Jutsu and stuff are Hito's?" Naruto interjected suddenly, "What if he got rid of your memories and implanted his own for some reason?"

"YES," Kai suddenly shouted, having 'remembered' something else, "That's it exactly. That is what he was trying to do. He wanted my body. I have a memory about a Jutsu that can transfer one person's soul to another body in order to prolong their lives. The only problem is, it won't transfer the soul's memories along with it. Hito has used the Jutsu so many times, that he has memories from several dozen lifetimes."

"Which is why you passed out," Iruka suddenly said, "with so much information coming in all at once, your brain couldn't take it."

"That must have been what I interrupted," Kakashi said, his one visible eye widening, "the soul transfer Jutsu; I stopped him from switching bodies."

"Thank you Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, realizing the depth of the situation he had been in, "you saved more than my life that day."

"That is not important now Kai," Kakashi interrupted, "what is important is that you can use those memories to help with your training. You are border-line failing right now, but these memories from dozens of lives may be able help you to get your chakra under control. I am sure that Hito has had a lot of practice bringing different bodies up to fighting form, so he would have to re-train the body's chakra capabilities too. You may be able to find his training techniques and put them to use."

"Hang on, let me check," Kai said, and shifted into a cross-legged position on the hospital bed. He then began to meditate like Kakashi had taught him. He searched through the memories and quickly found something that he could use. The mass of information had also proven to be difficult for Hito after the first several times he had used it, so he had developed a mental discipline to sort out his memories so he could find them at will, and Kai inadvertently slipped into it automatically. Kai decided that it was like creating a mental filing cabinet and sorting files into it.

Using this new information, Kai began to sift through the memories 'filing' them away as he went. He found this to be surprisingly easy, probably due to his meditation training with Kakashi. Eventually he found what he was looking for, and collectively 'dumped' all the remaining memories into a 'too be sorted file' for a later time. Kai examined the memory of Hito's training method and smiled as he realized what the answer was.

"Kage Bunshin," Kai said, coming out of his self induced trance.

"I beg your pardon?" Iruka said, caught off guard by the boy's sudden speech.

"That is how I will train my chakra control," Kai explained, "instead of working on each level for days at a time to get them under control; I will use the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ and minimize the amount of time I need to train to be able to manipulate my chakra properly."

"I see what you are getting at," Kakashi said, nodding," the clones all have their own chakra, it is simply divided from your own supply, and since you have a slightly above average chakra pool to begin with, you should be able to create enough clones to be able to master each level of control in a fraction of the time. Although you must realize that once you get up to higher amounts of chakra, you won't be able to make as many clones. They only have a set amount of chakra, and you will need to give them more, and therefore make fewer clones, in order to allow them to have enough to manipulate the required amount, but other than that, it should work. You may be able to gain enough control for most Jutsu and exercises in a matter of weeks."

"Oh man," Naruto said, "that sounds so cool!"

Kai laughed, "Of course I will need a training partner." Naruto's eyes widened in shock, and then he began dancing around in happiness.

"Actually that may be a good idea," Kakashi said, as Iruka rolled his eyes at Naruto's antics, "Naruto has an enormous Chakra supply compared to any of his classmates so the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ is perfect for him. Also, if one of them passes out when the clones are dispelled, provided that they don't just get rid of them all at once, the other one will be able to make sure nothing happens to the unconscious one while they recover."

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted suddenly, "Let's get started!"

"Not so fast Naruto," Iruka said, "I may not like it, but I know you are going to learn this Jutsu anyway. However, you can't skip school for it. Kai will have to, but not you."

Kai suddenly started to panic, "What? Why?"

Iruka smiled reassuringly, "Relax Kai, you are not being expelled or anything. It is just that, as Kakashi said, you are close to failing and you will fail if you keep up the performances you have been. So you will simply be excused from all practical lessons to work on your own."

"I will watch over your training Kai, so you don't do more than you can handle, and if anything happens, I can help immediately. There is a reason that this Jutsu is forbidden you know. I might also be able to help with a few other training styles. After all, I do have to train a Genin squad soon, so I might as well get used to the idea." Kakashi said as Kai nodded in agreement to both ninja.

"Don't worry Naruto, I will teach you the Jutsu the first chance I get after I have it down myself," Kai told his friend, he then smiled and said "But in the mean time, can I have something to eat, I wouldn't say no to some chicken if anyone wants to buy." Everyone laughed at the boy's admission and rose to leave the room, allowing the boy some privacy to get out of his hospital gown and back into his regular clothes.

As Kai walked out of the room to meet with his friends and go check out, he failed to notice a list of people who had been in to see him hanging on the door. If he had looked at it he would have seen a relatively short list, with names on it belonging to Uzumaki Naruto, Umino Iruka, Hatake Kakashi, and one Yamanaka Ino.

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"I've got you now!" Kai shouted as he leapt up into the air to deliver a kick to Naruto's head, who had lost track of the boy after their last exchange.

"Huh?" Naruto said stupidly as the foot contacted with his face causing the clone to poof out of existence, while Kai's foot to continued on through the space where the clone once was, throwing him off balance and allowing another Naruto to dash in and punch his friend in the side, causing the Kai clone to poof away this time. This Naruto then rushed off to help another Naruto clone fight off two Kais at once.

If someone were to walk past the opening to Training Ground 7 at that moment and look inside, they would be met with a strange sight. The field was filled with multiple copies of the same two ninja, one in orange and blue, the other in black and purple, exchanging blows and disappearing in clouds of smoke and dust. On the far side of the field, watching the strange melee, were three figures. The tallest of the three was Hatake Kakashi, who was acting as supervisor/referee for the fight, the other two were the original copies of all the clones now fighting each other, but these two weren't fighting.

"There are only about sixteen of my clones left Kakashi-sensei," Kai said as another cloud of smoke rose above the dust.

"Yeah," the Jonin said, his Sharingan uncovered to better observe the fight and keep count, "that matches my count, it's almost time." After a few more minutes, Kakashi raised his hand into the air. Immediately the clones stopped fighting and formed into ranks.

"Ha," Naruto said after counting the remaining clones, "Looks like I win again Kai,"

"Oh leave me alone Naruto," Kai retorted, smiling in a good natured fashion, "you really shouldn't let it go to your head, I could still beat you if I could use Jutsu, you just have me beat with pure Taijutsu and improvisation."

"You have a bigger Jutsu arsenal at your disposal," Naruto fired back, smiling as well, "but I can still beat you with what I have." This was the usual ending to their Kage Bunshin melees, and Kakashi smiled as he shook his head, pulling his hitai-ate back down.

"Just dispel the clones you two," Kakashi said slightly exasperated. He had first suggested this idea to help them with their evasion training. The clones could not take a direct hit without disappearing, so only the ones that were quickly able to dodge and counterattack would survive until the end. It had turned out to be a great training strategy, and it was always the last thing on the groups list for the day.

In the morning, after his lecture classes, Kai would use his clones to meditate and increase his control capacity, and then he would sift through more memories while recovering from the drain from making his clones. He was capable of making around thirty clones, next to Naruto's even hundred, and it always left him at least a little winded when he dispelled them, both from chakra exhaustion and the information rush.

Around that time, Naruto would show up and the two boys would run through academy Taijutsu drills and kunai and shuriken use under Kakashi's watchful eye. Then, after they had run through that, the great clone melee would begin. They would each make fifty clones and fight for as long as it took to whittle the number down enough to prevent making the tired boys pass out when they were dispelled all at once. Then, Kakashi would call and end to it and the clones would be dispelled, the boys would stagger, recover, and be sent home. Then everything would begin again, or at least that was how it had been all week.

"Ok boys," Kakashi said, covering his Sharingan again as his students recovered from the head rush, "tomorrow is the Genin exam, the moment you have both been working for. Because of this, this may be the last time that I am able to train you. However, I want you both to know that I have the utmost confidence in your abilities to pass the upcoming test." The two boys nodded their thanks, still too winded to speak.

Kakashi hadn't just been saying that, the two of them were quite a bit stronger than they had been, especially Kai. The boy could control enough of his chakra to be able to perform all the academy level Jutsu without overloading them, as well as a few lower mid ranked Jutsu that he pulled from Hito's memory, but the progress had slowed down drastically from the first day, as he was now training to control larger amounts of chakra than before, which was significantly harder as the amount increased.

Naruto was never one to be left behind, and this situation presented no exception to that rule. He had taken to the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_ like a fish to water, and was keeping his own skill slightly ahead of Kai's, which is saying something since Kai started on nothing, and Naruto had to work up from a higher level, making it even harder by definition. Kakashi had found that he got a strange satisfaction from seeing these two succeed when he had had a hand in helping them get there. He had decided that he was looking forward to helping his new Genin squad with their training, and found himself actually thinking about arriving on time for once. Nah, maybe not.

It had been a huge surprise for Kakashi to find that he actually remembered to arrive on time to his training sessions with Kai. He must have cared for the boy more than he thought he did. Either that or there was something wrong with him, which Kakashi highly doubted. He still read his favorite books, and he was chronically late to everything else, so it must just be his personal investment into Kai's wellbeing. One might say that Kakashi felt sorry for the boy, never knowing his parents or any family at all, even if he had them or not, would be hard on anyone, and Kakashi sort of felt sorry for the soon-to-be ninja. But one could also say that he had become attached to Kai, but they could never say it out loud around Kakashi.

"Now," Kakashi said once the two had risen to their feet again, "get home and get some sleep. I know you may think it is a little early, but you can never be too well rested for such an important test."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," the two boys said in unison and rushed off to their apartment homes. It had been an interesting week for the Jonin, and he almost felt bad seeing them go. He knew that he would miss the two, but would eventually get over it, as he got over everything else. Smiling again, the Jonin pulled out his familiar book, excited to continue reading his newest issue, and giggled before starting his slow walk back to his home.

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Kai locked the door to his apartment behind him and slumped against it. The time was fast approaching, would he be able to fulfill his dream and become a ninja? He certainly hoped so. In the mean time, he couldn't go to sleep just yet. In his latest foraging through the transferred memories of Zanbifushi Hito, he had come across another memory mentioning him and wanted to see if he could review it.

The black and purple clad boy settled down in a cross-legged position on his bed and entered his meditative state, appearing in his mindscape, as he had learned from Hito's memory. When he arrived, he walked around the "room" looking for, and eventually finding, the memory in question and began to examine it, trying to find a way to delve into its contents. He pondered his dilemma for a minute before he decided to simply focus on the memory and try to view it. After all, that was the way that he entered his mindscape, by concentrating, and it was _his_ mind after all, so he should be able to do whatever he wanted, right? Right.

To is slight astonishment and satisfaction, his idea worked immediately but as the memory seemed to grow clearer, he found himself losing his grip on his mindscape. He desperately tried to cling to his consciousness, but it was slipping away uncontrollably. Kai began to panic, thinking that he had messed up before noticing that a room was taking shape around him. As it came into focus, Kai began to make out a relatively small room with white walls and no windows. There was nothing in the room except for a single desk with a chair behind it. Seated in the chair was the old man that Kai remembered from the clearing when he first woke up, Zanbifushi Hito.

The elderly ninja seemed to be examining something in front of him intently, and as Kai shifted his position around, he saw that it was a piece of paper with a picture of a person on it. It was Kai.

Just as the boy began shifting around to see what was written underneath the picture, the door to the room flew open and a man rushed in, "Zanbifushi-sama," The man said, bowing to Hito," We have located the last surviving remnant of the Wareta clan. The woman has married into a local village and has had a child with her new husband. The boy is about…"

"Twelve," Hito interrupted, scowling," I know all this fool. Where is the village?"

The man seemed slightly taken aback before responding, "It is in a fertile canyon about two days from here at top speed. We are prepared to dispatch men to scout the area for infiltration and extraction of the boy."

"Very good," Hito said gruffly," Do so as soon as possible."

"Hai, Zanbifushi-sama" The man turned to leave, but then stopped and said, "Zanbifushi-sama, why is this boy so important to your plans? I don't mean to intrude upon information that I don't need to know, but I am curious as to why it must be this boy."

"Ah," Hito sighed, "I knew this would eventually happen. Very well, I shall tell you, and you must be sure to inform the rest of the men to sate their group curiosity." The man recoiled slightly before straitening up again, ready to hear what his master was about to reveal, "The boy is the last surviving male member of the Wareta clan. This clan was one of the most powerful bloodline clans from the distant past. Their power was feared so much that many of the other clans banned together and annihilated them, erasing them from the history books around five hundred years ago. However, I recently learned, as you know, that this small remnant of the clan had survived, and with it, their powerful bloodline. All I need is that boy, and the power of the kekkei genkai will be mine."

"If you don't mind me asking Zanbifushi-sama," The man asked very hesitantly, "What is the bloodline? What does it do?"

"The Miraigan," Hito said, deciding to grant the subordinates wish, in order to prevent gossip amongst the ranks, "Its specific powers are unknown, but it is said to afford a great advantage in battle. The few records I have that speak of the Wareta clan in battle talk of them seeming to be able to predict their opponent's moves, making them almost impossible to hit. It is a power that intrigues me, and if I could manage to, how can I put this, re-create the clan, then I could have the bloodline as long as I wanted. It would give me even more power, something I cannot have enough of." Hito started laughing loudly and maniacally as Kai's vision faded and he found himself back in his mindscape.

Kai was stunned. His family was famous. He had a bloodline. He might still have family out there. It was a lot of information to absorb at one time, information that dealt directly with his past, which made it that much more vital. Kai sighed; this was turning out to be more interesting than he had anticipated. He slipped back into the conscious world to check the time, and found that he needed to get to sleep. He didn't want to be half-asleep during his Genin exam tomorrow. The moment of truth was approaching; he just wished he was as confident as Kakashi had been.

As he prepared himself for bed his thoughts turned to his masked sensei. Kakashi had a Sharingan eye. If Kai remembered correctly from his classes, the Sharingan was a Konoha Dojutsu kekkei genkai. Maybe he should tell Kakashi of his discovery the next time he saw him, whenever that would be. If he could find the Jonin, he might be able to help Kai with his own bloodline development. Kai was sure that he could use all the help he could get in developing his power. But he would have to worry about that some other time. Right now, he needed to get to sleep; otherwise he would end up failing his test tomorrow simply because he couldn't stay awake. Sighing once more, Kai set his alarm clock and climbed under the covers before settling into a deep, dreamless sleep.

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AN: Hope you liked the third chapter. I managed to work in a little action, not much, but at least it was something different to break up the monotony. I have introduced a few of the major items that I wanted to work into the story, one of them being the Miraigan, and the other being something that you may have missed. It was a very minor hint, but someone may have caught it. Anyway, the next chapter will probably go through the Genin exams and maybe through team placement. Other than that, I don't know how far I will take it. I guess you will just have to see in Chapter 4.

And now for the one whole Jutsu:

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shadow Clone Technique

Read and Review please.


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

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Disclaimer: I Don't own Naruto or anything directly affiliated with him and/or his show, just Kai, Hito and any original Jutsu I may use.

AN: Here it is whether you want it or not, Chapter 4.

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Kai woke with a start to the sound of pounding on his apartment door accompanied by the frantic shouting of his closest friend, "Kai, wake up. Today is the day you fulfill your dream and I make the first step on the road to mine!"

The young boy looked at his alarm clock and groaned, it would not have gone off for another half-hour. Naruto must not have been able to sleep, and decided to come over and ensure they Kai suffered from the same problem. Oh well, at least he had gotten enough sleep to help chase off drowsiness, and Naruto never seemed sleepy, so he should be ok.

"Hang on," Kai shouted to the orange clad student on the other side of the door, "Let me get dressed and I will let you in." Kai quickly donned his purple and black outfit and eyed a small bag lying in the bottom of his closet. He and Kakashi had purchased the items in the bag the week before, and he hoped that he would be able to wear them after today. He couldn't dress in his family's traditional ninja garb until he was a full ninja, but with any luck, he would attain that rank today. Yawning slightly, Kai walked through his small apartment and opened the door finding Naruto was preparing to kick it down,

"Whoa!" Kai shouted, "Hold on Naruto, the door is open."

"Gomen, Kai," Naruto apologized, scratching the back of his head with his free hand, the other one holding a bag, "I got tired of waiting. HEY! I've got ramen, come on, today is the day and we should start it with a special breakfast!" With that, Naruto sped past Kai into the apartment and through to the small kitchen where Kai immediately heard the sound of Naruto shifting through all of Kai's cabinets looking for the required items to make the ramen he had brought with him. Kai sighed and followed his friend through the apartment to retrieve the required items for Naruto before his kitchen was left in shambles.

"Arigato, Kai," Naruto nodded in thanks as Kai handed him a small pot to boil the water for his instant ramen in, "Now comes the worst part: waiting for it to boil."

"You like this stuff a little too much Naruto," Kai laughed as he walked back into his small bedroom to get the rest of his things ready. All he really had left to do was to get his ninja gear. Today would be the first day that he was allowed to wear these items to class. Kakashi had been teaching them both how to use their weapons in their training sessions, of course, but that did not mean that Iruka-sensei would want the boys to bring them in to all their regular classes.

A few minutes later, Kai found himself sitting at his kitchen table eating the chicken flavored ramen that his friend had given him while Naruto noisily slurped down the noodles in his own ramen. It never ceased to amaze Kai how fast Naruto could eat ramen. It wasn't that Kai disliked ramen, not at all; it was just that he wasn't as obsessed with it as Naruto was.

After about ten minutes, and seven bowls of ramen for Naruto, Kai finished eating and the two boys stood up, placed their dishes in the sink, and prepared to leave for the academy, and their Genin exam.

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It was very crowded outside the academy as the young Genin hopefuls were prepared for their big test by their anxious parents, who would likely wait outside the building until their children emerged once again. Scenes like this always saddened the two young boys who walked up to the academy this morning. Naruto was more used to it, and so he was able to keep his "happy mask" up, but Kai was not so fortunate, his face immediately falling as his thoughts turned to his unknown parents. What had Hito done to them? Kai knew that he did have parents, and that they lived in a village in a fertile valley somewhere, but other than that, he didn't know anything about them. He couldn't remember anything other than a few flashes of faces from his past, but he didn't recognize any of them. He had been meaning to check into Hito's memories to try and find some evidence about his parents, but he didn't have high hopes.

Kai shook his head vigorously, he could not let such thoughts cloud his head today of all days. He needed to keep himself focused if he was going to pass. He had nothing else in his life now besides fulfilling his dream. Maybe once he became a ninja he would be able to track down his family, but until then he would have to keep his mind focused on the task at hand.

The two boys stopped on the outskirts of the crowd and waited for the doors to the academy to open and give the two the chance that they needed to get inside and avoid the crowd of people that could easily turn into a mob of angry villagers chasing Naruto because of their unknown and seemingly random hatred for the boy. To make matters worse, the villagers had decided that since Kai associated with Naruto, and since he was relatively unknown in the village, he should become hated as well, and because of this development, Kai had been getting some rough treatment lately as well, but never to the extent that Naruto received. Nevertheless, Kai had become more cautious around the village lately and remained slightly on edge as he warily eyed the crowd in front of him.

The two boys made their way over to the swing that Naruto had been sitting on when Kai first approached him. It had sort of become their area, since the other kids wouldn't venture near it, undoubtedly because their parents had told them to stay away from the strange Naruto boy. The only ones who ever actually did come up to them were Choji and Shikamaru, and, on one occasion, Ino, who left quickly after saying, "hi," grumbling under her breath about people not being any good with conversation or something like that, Kai couldn't be sure.

As the two watched a few figures in the crowd spotted them and made their way over, there was a large man, a very large man, with Choji walking next to him. "Hello over there," the big man said, "you two must be Naruto and Kai." The man was smiling, which had to be a good sign, it caused Naruto and Kai to both relax slightly, very slightly, they still did not know this man.

"Uh, hi," Kai said slowly, "hey Choji," Kai then turned his attention to the known and tried to figure out who the other man was.

"Hey guys," Choji said, smiling slightly in between chip munches, "this is my dad, Akimichi Choza,"

"Oh," Kai said feeling stupid for not recognizing the similarities between the two, "Hello Akimichi-san," Kai bowed slightly.

"Yeah," Naruto laughed uneasily, scratching the back of his head before seeing Kai and quickly standing up from the swing and bowing slightly himself, "hi."

"Oh now there is no need for that," Choza said smiling after seeing the two boys bowing in front of him, "I may be a council member, but that does not mean that Choji's friends need to bow in front of me. Any friend of my son's is a friend of mine."

"Arigato," Kai said after standing straight again, blushing slightly.

Choza just laughed and waved his hand airily before saying, "I just thought that I should come over here and wish you luck today. Choji has told me of your family situations and I want to let you know that if you ever need any help, you can always count on the Akimichi family for support. I could probably also say the same about Shikamaru and Ino's families, the Naras and the Yamanakas, but they would have to speak for themselves," Choza said with a wink.

"Oh, be serious dad," Choji said, "you know that they told you to give them their support before we even came over here."

The jolly council member simply laughed again before turning and saying, "It looks like the exams are starting soon." Sure enough, just as the three boys looked past the large man they saw that the academy doors were opening up and Iruka was standing in the opening with Mizuki.

Kai had never been able to like Mizuki. He had always seemed to glare at him a lot of the time when he thought Kai wasn't watching, and if he wasn't glaring at Kai, he was glaring at Naruto. If looks could kill, both Kai and Naruto would have died several thousand times already, but neither boy had any idea as to why Mizuki hated them so much. They eventually decided that it must be the same reason that the rest of the village had, whatever that was, and put it out of their minds.

"Alright everyone," Iruka shouted over the voices of the crowd who quieted immediately, "it is time for the students to enter the academy and begin their Genin exams. If you would all make your way into the classroom, we can begin with the exams."

With one final encouraging smile from Choza, the three Genin hopefuls begin to make their way into the Konoha Ninja Academy. As they passed through the crowd, Kai and Naruto were both aware of the glares that they were receiving from the numerous villages. They also managed to notice a few smiles coming from Yamanaka Inoichi and Nara Shikaku, Ino and Shikamaru's respective fathers.

The boys passed into the air conditioned environment of the academy and walked the familiar path to their classroom to wait for their teachers so they could take the next step in their ninja careers. The air was tense everywhere except for one small section where Sasuke was sitting. In that case, the air was cold as it usually was when Sasuke was brooding, which was pretty much any time Sasuke was anywhere. The only other area that was different was where most of the girls were gathered. The majority of them would not be able to pass their exam, mostly because they had spent most of their time swooning over Sasuke, there were a few hopefuls however: those few girls who had either been completely uninterested in Sasuke, Hyuga Hinata; or those who were completely obsessed with him, but still smart enough to pass the class anyway, Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.

After a few minutes of waiting, Iruka and Mizuki walked into the room and turned to address the students. "Alright class," Iruka began, "Today is the day you have all been waiting for. Today is the day you will all take your Genin exam," he paused here for dramatic effect, until Mizuki cleared his throat loudly, then Iruka continued with a slight blush, "The exam will consist of three portions that will test three of the most important skills that a ninja should have that you have not already been tested on throughout the year. The first and second tests will consist of a measure of your skills with kunai and shuriken accuracy and a Taijutsu sparring match with one of your fellow students. These two exams will take place out in the training yard and will be observed my Mizuki and myself. We will both be your judges for these exams and will decide as a group whether you pass or fail. The third exam will take place after a short break in here. For the final part, we will take each of you across the hall into an empty classroom and have you give us an example of your Ninjutsu skill, anything from a simple _henge_ to an offensive Jutsu, or anything else that you can think of. The more complex the Jutsu is, and the more effectively you manage your chakra, the higher your score will be. The only restriction is that you cannot use any family Jutsu; they must be from some other source. After you complete the third step of the exam you will be told whether you pass or fail before you return to the classroom. Does everyone understand?"

After hearing a chorus of "Hai" from his class, Iruka, followed by Mizuki, lead the students out to the training yard where he explained the first portion in more detail, "If you look over to the other side of the yard you will see a set of targets, each one farther than the last. The targets are ten, fifteen, and twenty yards away respectively. Your first task is to hit each target with your kunai and then with shuriken, you will be graded on accuracy. First up is Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke walked up with his hands in his pockets and stood at the mark Iruka showed him before straightening up and reaching into his hip-pouch for three kunai which he threw nonchalantly, followed by three shuriken thrown in a similar fashion. All six of the projectiles managed to hit the targets close to or right on the center. Sasuke just smirked and walked back to his place in line. Next was Sakura, followed by Shikamaru and then on down the list. It soon became clear to Kai that Iruka was traveling down the list form highest ranked in the class to lowest, which meant he was last in line, after Naruto.

Finally, Naruto was called forward and did almost as good as Sasuke, much to the amazement of most of the class. Mizuki's eyes shot open as he saw the first kunai hit the target dead center, then the second target was struck and the third, all very close to perfect. The shuriken went mostly the same way, except with slightly less accuracy, but still close enough for a good score. Mizuki looked positively deadly with his glares being matched only by those being sent by Sasuke, as if he was offended that the former dead last of the class would dare to do almost as well as he did.

As Kai walked up he felt the glare of Sasuke raking into his back, seeming to dare him to do well also, almost as if he wanted a reason to hate the boy. Mizuki wasn't much better, the only difference was that he was standing in front of Kai, and you couldn't see his face unless you were standing close to him, like the purple and black clad boy was.

"Alright Kai," Iruka said, seemingly trying to calm the boy down, "your up. Do you best and we can move on to the next portion." Kai slowly reached into his hip-pouch and grasped the handle of his first kunai. Suddenly, he was calm, this was no big deal, Kai knew he could easily outclass every one of these fools. Wait, where did that come from? Shaking his head slightly to clear his thoughts, he threw his kunai as Kakashi had taught him and struck the target dead center, much to Mizuki's chagrin.

His next Kunai was much the same as the first, but when he went to throw the third one, someone lightly coughed behind him, making him lose his concentration and barely manage to correct in time for his kunai to imbed itself in the outside edge of the target. Turning slightly, Kai saw Sasuke bringing his hand down from his mouth, smirking slightly, his look almost daring Kai to confront him, to blame Sasuke for Kai's slight mistake. Kai, tried to calm himself and settled with showing him up on his shuriken, all of which hit the center of the targets, he had always preferred shuriken to kunai anyway.

"Very well done Kai," Iruka said, sensing some kind of tension growing in the air after Kai's third kunai went wide, the cough was a very light one and Iruka had not heard it, so did not understand what the problem was, but continued anyway, "you have improved a lot since you first came here, which is saying something since you had absolutely no training when you first arrived," Iruka smiled at his own joke, "Now everyone, if you will follow me over here to the Taijutsu ring, we will begin the second part of the exam, the Taijutsu sparring matches. We will group you into sets of two and you will fight for one minute, no lethal force may be used, and no weapons or chakra may be used, so you will leave your weapon pouches on the benches on either side of the field. You will fight until Mizuki or I call the match, one of the fighters step out of the ring, or one minute expires. The first two to fight will be Uchiha Sasuke, and Wareta Kai."

Everyone began talking at once, while Sasuke smirked and Kai smiled slightly, he would get a chance to demonstrate his Taijutsu capabilities from his tutoring with Kakashi, and he would be able to get back at Sasuke for messing up his kunai throwing. That was a two for one that Kai was looking forward to. He knew that Sasuke had him beat in Ninjutsu and chakra control as well as handling kunai, but that did not mean that Kai couldn't outclass him in Taijutsu in addition to his shuriken work which he had already shown.

Kai relieved himself of his weapon pouch and handed it to Naruto before walking to one side of the circular ring. Their Taijutsu sparing arena was nothing more than a large metal ring, roughly twenty-five feet across, imbedded into the dirt providing a circular border that will not have to be redrawn after every few fights. Kai had not been able to spend much time in the arena, but was still confident that he was good enough to beat Sasuke.

Sasuke was still smirking as he walked to the opposite side of the ring and stood with his arms crossed, waiting for the fight to start. As Mizuki walked around to the far side of the ring, Iruka stood ready and raised his hand into the air. Seeing this, Kai and Sasuke sank into their respective fighting stances. Kai sank a little lower than Sasuke, causing a raised eyebrow from everyone watching. Sasuke was fighting in the same style he had always used, his family's Taijutsu style was something that they had seen many times, mostly when Sasuke fought in the training ring where they were now, but Kai's was entirely unfamiliar to any of them.

Sasuke quickly recovered from his slight confusion as he heard Iruka call for the fight to begin and lower his hand. The blue clad student rushed forward and attempted to hit Kai with a simple straight punch with extra power added from the momentum Sasuke gained by running, but Kai simply spun off to the side at the last moment, pushing off of Sasuke's arm, causing him to lose his balance and stumble off to the side. Attempting to take advantage of the situation, Kai quickly sank into a sweeping kick to try and knock Sasuke off of his feet, but Sasuke got a lucky break as he managed to stumble out of Kai's reach before regaining his balance and his guard as Kai rose back up into his fighting crouch.

Sasuke decided to wait for Kai to attack and see if he could turn the tables on him like Kai tried to do, but found that Kai didn't seem to be in any hurry at all. The one minute mark came and went and Mizuki and Iruka called the match before declaring that they two boys would be given more time, since there had only been one exchange, not nearly enough to make a good observation of their skills.

"Well I have no problem with that," Sasuke said, slightly irritated at his opponent, "but maybe you should tell the dobe over there that he should do a little offensive work himself, maybe then we will be able to get this over with." Sasuke sneered at Kai, who had remained on the defensive, contrary to Sasuke's expectations the entire time.

"Oh," Kai said, feigning surprise, "was it my turn to attack you, I was under the impression that you had not finished your part of the exchange, so I was waiting for you to finish before I made my move, but if you are sure that you are done…" Kai suddenly ran forward before sliding down onto his back just before he reached Sasuke. The blue clad boy was about to start making fun of Kai, thinking that he had slipped during his charge, before Kai slammed his hands into the ground and used the leverage to lift his feet into the air and slam them into Sasuke's chin, lifting him a few feet off the ground before he fell backwards and landed hard, flat on his back.

That move was met with a few different reactions: Iruka and Mizuki drew back slightly impressed that Kai had been able to hit Sasuke with such force, Naruto and Choji let out a cheer as Sasuke was laid out flat from Kai's attack while Shikamaru simply smiled, and every girl other than Hinata screamed their fury at Kai for harming their beloved Sasuke-kun, although the cries of one girl were not quite as infuriated as those of the others.

Sasuke struggled back to his feet and began glaring daggers at Kai before charging again in an attempt to get his revenge for the disgrace handed to him by Kai. Sasuke started by jumping into the air and attempting a spin kick which Kai blocked with a sturdy stance and a raised forearm. Kai barely had time to recover from the shock of the blow before Sasuke pushed off of Kai's arm before landing and using his momentum to send another spinning kick at Kai's midsection. Kai was forced to drop backwards, resting on his weight on his hands and feet (think crab-walk).

Kai was slightly shocked by Sasuke's sudden anger and vicious attack, but recovered quickly enough to take advantage of his position and try his upward kick again, but this time Sasuke was ready. The blue clad boy managed to lean back far enough to avoid the kick and then spun around once again to deliver an elbow to the side of Kai's knee which was at Sasuke's chest level.

Kai fell off to the side as his knees were smashed out of the way by Sasuke's elbow. He grimaced slightly as he sprung back up onto his feet, just in time to dodge Sasuke's falling leg, and his slightly sore right knee took his weight again. Kai decided that he should remain on the defensive after seeing his last offensive attempt so easily foiled.

Sasuke, after seeing Kai sink back into his defensive position, growled slightly and charged again, his vision narrowing until he only saw Kai. He tried another straight punch, but was foiled again as Kai used his left arm to bash it to the side before sending his right arm to slam into Sasuke's shoulder, causing him to fall back onto his back once again with much of the same result as the last time Sasuke had fallen.

"Alright," Iruka said, "That's it, we need to stop this before one or both of these boys get hurt." Kai slumped slightly where he stood, nearly falling, and waited as Naruto and Choji hurried out to help him limp back over to the bench. Now that the fight had been called, Kai's adrenaline rush was wearing out and his knee really started hurting. He didn't think that it was anything other than a bruise, but that didn't change the fact that it hurt. Slowly, Kai reached down and rested his right hand on his injured knee and began to focus chakra to his hand. His hand and knee both began to glow a bright blue as the pain quickly disappeared and Kai slumped again, recovering from the exertion of the fight and the Jutsu he had used instinctively.

Iruka, having seen this, walked over to Kai, "Did you just use _Shosen no Jutsu_? How did you learn that?"

"Huh?" Kai said stupidly, still zoned out, "uh, I guess I did. Wow, that's cool; I didn't know I could do that." And then he zoned out again, leaving Iruka to shake his head and wonder, simply writing his unusual skill off to the boy's recently acquired Jutsu knowledge.

The rest of the tests passed uneventfully for Kai, mostly because he was nearly unconscious for most of them. Everyone who saw him, with the exception of Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji, were wondering why he was acting like this, but no one realized that Kai was using his down time to search through more of Hito's memories and sort them, while keeping an eye on the proceedings so that he wouldn't miss the last part of the test.

Once the final fight was completed, Mizuki and Iruka conferred for a moment before Iruka said, "Ok everyone, let's all go back into the classroom. Once there we will all take a ten minute break before you will be called, one by one, into the opposite room for the final test." With that, the two Chunin teachers turned and lead the class back inside to their classroom where they anxiously awaited the third portion of their tests.

"Wow Kai," Choji said, finally able to talk to his friend, "that was some amazing fighting. You actually got one-up on Sasuke."

"Several times," Shikamaru added, a small smile on his face as he recalled the humiliating match that everyone's 'favorite' emo had experienced against the purple and black clad boy, "and your fighting style was definitely original."

"That is exactly it," Kai said, laughing a little, "I really didn't have a fighting style. The only thing that I really used was the basic stance that Kakashi-sensei taught me, other than that, I improvised. It was so much fun, but don't tell Sasuke that I was winging it, I think he is embarrassed and enraged enough as it is." Kai, Naruto, Choji, and Shikamaru all shared a laugh after this last statement, and conversation turned to more mundane matters not related to their ninja careers for the rest of the break period.

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"That was amazing," Iruka said to Mizuki as they prepared for the final part of the Genin exam, "if that match continued as it had been going, Kai probably would have defeated Sasuke."

"True, "Mizuki said slowly, "but you must remember, Iruka, that the match was strictly Taijutsu, undoubtedly Sasuke would have defeated Kai easily if he had use of his other facilities. It was merely a fluke."

"If you really think so Mizuki, then there is nothing I can do to change it," Iruka said, grinning slightly, "but I for one have seen more of what Kai is capable of by watching some of his training sessions with Kakashi, and I must say, he really has improved a lot since he first appeared. He really seems to have some kind of natural talent with everything ninja related, with the exception of chakra control, he still struggles with that. In fact, Kakashi has told me that he sometimes must work even harder than the rest of us to attain the next level of control over his chakra, and when he is done with that part of his training, he is so physically weak that you might think that he had just fulfilled one of Maito Guy's ridiculous "If I fail" promises."

Mizuki merely grunted, deciding that he shouldn't say any more on the subject. It would not do for Iruka to learn of his immense dislike of Kai and his orange clad friend, although the fact that Mizuki hated Naruto should not have come as a surprise when you looked at what the boy was. Iruka, however, liked both boys, and probably would disapprove of Mizuki's attitude toward them. It was of little importance however, by the end of the day, he would be out of this backwater village and on his way back to his master. Then there would be nothing that Iruka could do to stop him from killing the two boys.

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"Ok everyone, it is time to begin the final part of your exam," Iruka said as he took his familiar place at the front of the classroom. All talk in the room died down immediately, everyone being anxious to complete the test.

"As I said earlier," Iruka continued, once the last pockets of conversation had died off, "The third part of the exam will be taken privately in the room across the hall. You will each be called into the room one at a time and asked to demonstrate your Jutsu, remember no family Jutsu allowed, and your score will be based on how well your perform. Before you leave the room, you will be told whether you pass or fail. Good luck to everyone."

Once Iruka finished his part, Mizuki stepped forward and said, "I will call out the first person to accompany us across the hallway. Once they return to the room, they will tell the class who the next student to take their test will be. That student will then come over to the other room, take their test, and return to get the next student, all the way down to the end of the list of students. Once you have taken your test and informed the next student of their turn, you may leave to go find your family, who are probably ready to tear down the academy by now. And now, on to the first student: Uchiha Sasuke, if you please." Mizuki gestured, and Sasuke rose to walk down to the front of the room and follow the two teachers out of the classroom and on to his final test. He was walking with a small limp, and seemed to be glaring at Kai out of the corner of his eye as he left the room.

Talk immediately sprang up, with most of the loudest conversations coming from the babbling masses that were the groups of Sasuke's fan-girls. Kai simply leaned back and continued sorting through his memories, staying conscious enough to add his own bit to the conversation between Naruto, Choji, and Shikamaru, who were once again talking about nonessentials. The other three boys were used to Kai zoning out like this, but knew that he was still listening. Only Naruto knew exactly what he was doing, and knew what a daunting task he was facing, several dozen lifetimes worth of memories waiting to be sorted would intimidate any person, but he also knew that it was something that Kai must do. Although if the truth were told, he was really hoping that Kai could come up with some other really cool Jutsu that he could teach to the ramen loving boy.

A few minutes passed before the door opened again and in walked Sasuke, amid the screams of his fan-girls, who was sporting a shiny new Konoha hitai-ate on his forehead. "Sakura is next," he said simple before turning again and walking back out of the classroom, and presumably, the building. Sakura simply stood and quick-walked out of the room to take her test, and soon returned with her symbol of success tied on her head to keep her hair back.

"Wow, this is exciting," Naruto said, messing with his goggles, "soon I will have my own hitai-ate to replace these stupid goggles with and I will have taken my first step to becoming Hokage!" This was followed by a few weary shouts to shut up, because he had shouted the last part out loud enough for the parents outside to hear. Naruto's enthusiasm did not die down completely, but now he was limited to his thoughts, attempting to avoid incurring the wrath of his classmates.

When Sakura called on Shikamaru to take his test next, Kai recognized the pattern again and settled himself in for a long wait. He knew that they were going in order of class rank again and that put he and Naruto last. Kai was confident that he could pass. All he had to do was perform the _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,_ and he would be fine, no problem at all. Comforted by this discovery, Kai settled into his memory sorting again.

Kai had not closely examined any memories since the night before, not because he hadn't had the chance to, but because he had not found any memories that warranted investigation. This streak held true for the next hour as the number of his fellow students dwindled down until it was just him. Naruto had been gone for about a minute before Kai fully came out of his trance and noticed the absence of life in the room. He straightened in his seat and stretched a little, working a few kinks out of his back, and had just settled down in his seat again when Naruto came back in, sporting a Hitai-ate where his goggles once were, with said accessory dangling from his hand.

"Hey, Kai," Naruto said, running up to the top of the classroom once he noticed his friend was awake; "I did it! I'm a ninja! I passed the test with flying colors."

"Congratulations Naruto," Kai responded and stood, "well I guess that means it's my turn then?"

"Yep," Naruto said smiling at first, then his face fell, "but Kai, you need to watch out for Mizuki. He seems to have something against us. He was really hard on me, and if it wasn't for Iruka, I probably wouldn't have passed at all."

Kai frowned slightly, "Ok, thanks for the warning. Wish me luck!" With that, Kai ran down the steps and out the door, followed by Naruto who settled down to wait in the hall while Kai entered the final testing room.

----------

"What was that about Mizuki?" Iruka said quietly, but with anger laced through every word. He knew that Naruto would not be able to hear what he was saying, the boy had run out too fast for that, but there was no telling when Kai might walk in.

"What do you mean Iruka," Mizuki said, feigning innocence. He knew exactly what Iruka was talking about, but still couldn't let his childhood friend know about his dislike for the demon fox. There were no telling how he would react, and he could not risk a confrontation with him yet. That the two friends would eventually fight, there was no doubt in Mizuki's mind, but that did not mean that Mizuki couldn't pick the place and time.

"I mean how hard you were testing Naruto," Iruka said, getting even more irritated, "he did fine with his first Jutsu, but you made him keep going, doing even harder until he was forced to use the forbidden _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_, and even then you still didn't seem like you wanted to pass him. What exactly is going on here?"

Mizuki started to respond but was cut off when the door began to open, "I think we will have to finish this later," Mizuki said quickly before turning to the final student to take this years Genin exam.

----------

Kai walked through the door and thought he saw Iruka leaning over to Mizuki, who was whispering something to Iruka before turning to Kai and saying, "Alright Kai, are you ready for the final part of the Genin exam?"

"Hai, Mizuki-sensei," Kai responded, deciding to keep everything as straight and formal as possible so he could avoid giving Mizuki a chance to make things difficult for him.

"Alright Kai, now all you need to do is perform a Ninjutsu to show us that you are able to manipulate your chakra, and you will pass this portion of the Genin exam." Iruka said. He was not going to let Mizuki mess this up for Kai. Both of them knew that Kai was a case of borderline failure. He had done remarkably well in the test, but he still had low grades for the time he was in the class. His grades had begun to pick up toward the end, most notably after he passed out in class, but he still needed a near perfect score on the final exam to be able to become a ninja with his age group.

Iruka had a feeling that Mizuki didn't like Naruto or Kai, he didn't have any idea why this might be the case, or any actual proof that he even did, but it was a feeling he couldn't shake. Iruka's old friend had changed a lot in the past five or six months, and the teacher didn't know what to think about it. That, however, wasn't something that he could think about now. He knew that Kai had the skill to pass this portion, but he just had to make sure that Mizuki didn't set things up so the Kai couldn't pass the exam. If that happened, Kai could lose his drive, and would probably fall into a depression that would be very hard to climb out of.

"Whenever you are ready Kai," Mizuki said, resting his head on his hands folded in front of him.

"Hai," Kai said and held his hands so that two fingers from each hand were crossed in front of him, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Kai fed just enough chakra to form five clones of himself, which he believed to be more than enough to impress Iruka and Mizuki, and therefore allow him to pass.

"Very impressive Kai…" Iruka began but was interrupted by Mizuki.

"Yes, very much so," Mizuki said quickly, attempting to cut of Iruka before he was stopped, "But that only shows that you can do what we already knew you could do: use large amounts of chakra only. A true ninja needs to be able to use any amount of chakra to fit the required situation. Try to think of another Jutsu, one that does not require a large amount of chakra, so that you can show us that you have greater control over your abilities." Mizuki smirked behind his hands, he had the boy now. There was no way that he would be able to meet these requirements, and what was even better, his complaints were legitimate. Without more chakra control than Kai had had, there was no way that he could become a good ninja, and this only made Mizuki smile wider.

Iruka was about to object when he saw the point behind Mizuki's statements, maybe he had just been paranoid thinking that Mizuki was out to get Naruto and Kai. He just needed to get some more sleep; he was imagining secret plots to sabotage the careers of young ninja now, no more late nights at the bar for him.

Kai stopped for a moment, but then got an idea, "Alright Mizuki-sensei, I think I have an idea that may help you make your final decision." Kai then turned and walked over to the wall at the far side of the room. During their training with Kakashi, the Jonin had begun to teach Kai and Naruto the basics of chakra-based tree climbing. Ever since then, Kai had been using that method to help him practice his chakra control. Depending on the angle that he tried to climb, a different amount of chakra was required, which made it perfectly suited to helping Kai to improve his flow control.

Iruka saw Kai walk over to the wall and start focusing his chakra. The Chunin smiled as he realized what the boy was doing. Kakashi had really pulled out a lot of the stops when he trained him.

Mizuki, on the other and, was not happy. He also realized what the boy was up to, and wasn't pleased by this development. This was really going to screw up his plans. If he could not bribe this boy to do the deed for him, he might have to break into the Hokage tower himself.

Kai was completely oblivious to the thoughts of either of his teachers. He was too busy trying to focus the right amount of chakra to walk up the wall. He knew that once he got up to the top of the wall, he could easily cling to the ceiling, because of the large amount of chakra required, but the vertical wall required a medium flow of chakra, and therefore caused Kai to have to focus more so he wouldn't fail the test. He had a strange feeling that this is what Naruto had been talking about when he told Kai to watch out for Mizuki. The Chunin teacher had used a legitimate, logical excuse to attempt to cause Kai to fail the test.

Sighing Kai decided to put it out of his mind, he needed to concentrate. Slowly, Kai took the last step to the base of the wall, and, even more slowly, placed his right foot onto it. After waiting a moment to make sure he had his grip, Kai slowly lifted his left foot and placed it on the wall next to his right foot before slowly beginning his ascent, all the while holding his body completely horizontal with a small flow of chakra. This continued for the next several seconds as Kai slowly made his way up the wall before reaching the top corner and stepping gratefully onto the ceiling, before walking upside down over to his two teachers, who had different looks on their faces as they regarded the upside-down boy.

Iruka was smiling widely, Kai had bypassed all the obstacles that had been placed before him, and the smiling Chunin knew that he had a bright future ahead of him. Mizuki, on the other hand, was silently cursing as he tried to think of another way to possibly fail the boy, then it came to him, "Very nicely done Kai, now if you can show us an example of low level chakra control, then I will have no further objections."

Iruka's happy bubble was popped as Mizuki finished talking; this was getting ridiculous; a person could only be so strict about selecting good ninja. This boy had more talent as an academy student than some experienced Genin had, and Mizuki was throwing up every possible barrier that he could. But unfortunately, Iruka could do nothing now but hope that Kai could pass this final test. Mizuki had said that this was the last thing he had for him, and Iruka could use that if his friend tried anything else.

Kai just sighed, slightly exasperated, and released his chakra hold on the ceiling, flipping quickly as he fell before releasing a very small burst of chakra when he landed to cushion his fall. "There," he said triumphantly, "are you satisfied now Mizuki-sensei?"

Mizuki just grumbled and tried to think of some other way to stop the boy when Iruka spoke up, "Well Mizuki, Kai has cleared all of the tasks that you set, and you told him that that was his last one. So, does he pass or not," Iruka managed to put a certain, nearly undetectable, amount of malice into his statement, basically telling his friend that he had better pass Kai, or else.

Mizuki grumbled his assent, picking up on the hint and not wanting to create any pre-mature disturbances, and Iruka smiled widely before saying, "Congratulations Kai, you have passed your Genin exam with flying colors! Here is your hitai-ate, signifying you as a Konoha Genin!" With that, Iruka handed over a headband, exactly like the ones that the other students had received earlier in the day. Kai took it and held it in his hands, seemingly unable to believe that his dream had come true, before bowing slightly to his two teachers and murmuring his thanks.

"Just remember Kai," Iruka said, still smiling, "be sure to return to the academy the day after tomorrow for your squad placement."

Kai nodded to show that he heard Iruka and slowly turned, still staring at his new headband and seemed to drag himself forcefully out the door. He was still going at this snail's pace when he closed the door behind him and he immediately collapsed onto the waiting Naruto, who caught him before he could hit the ground."Damn Mizuki," Kai panted softly, "made me overextend my control. I can barely walk."

"I'm really surprised that you made it out of the room without collapsing," Naruto said, concerned about his friend, "although I cannot say I am surprised that Mizuki did that. He seems to want to pick on our weaknesses, I had to make regular _Bunshin_, and I probably would have failed if not for Kakashi-sensei's help this last week. But as far as I can tell, Mizuki only did this too us. I wonder what his problem is."

"Don't care," Kai panted again, "Oh, and to answer your almost unspoken question, the only reason that I am still conscious is because of sheer willpower," Kai grimaced and seemed to droop even more, "which is about to run out. Goodnight." And Kai slumped completely, resting all his weight on the shocked Naruto's shoulders, who then gently lowered his friend to the ground before summoning some _Kage Bunshin_ to help carry the unconscious boy back to his apartment.

----------

Meanwhile, Iruka and Mizuki were examining the grades of those who passed this year's test, completely oblivious to the state of the unconscious boy who had just walked out of the room. Mizuki was fuming, but had come to the decision that he would have to do the job himself. It would have been easier if he could have gotten one of the dropouts to do it for him, but he would be leaving the village anyway, so he really didn't care what everyone thought of him.

Iruka was simply doing his job. He had no deep, dark worries on his mind, just pride in this years new Genin. "You know Mizuki," Iruka said, seemingly having forgotten the entire incident between Mizuki and Kai, "this is the kind of moment I live for. Seeing the students that I have taught for so long succeed and become Genin. It is a good feeling knowing that they will go on to do great things."

Mizuki only grunted before getting up and walking out the door into the empty hallway, with only his thoughts to accompany him. Iruka simply stared after him, before smiling sadly, thinking that something was wrong with his childhood friend. The Chunin teacher sighed and turned back to the small mound of paperwork that still awaited his hand.

Mizuki however, had more than paperwork on his mind. He had much work to do, and very little time to do it. He would have to make his move tonight, when everyone was celebrating the new Genin. Security would be lax at the Hokage tower and he would be able to infiltrate it relatively easily. He only hoped that he could escape without being caught.

----------

Kai woke up lying on his bed in his apartment. The unmistakable aroma of instant ramen was wafting through the atmosphere around him, and he slid out of bed to stumble sleepily into the kitchen, still dressed in his purple and black outfit with all his ninja gear. Upon arriving, he slumped down into a chair at the table, just as Naruto placed a bowl of his favorite flavor of ramen in front of him before walking back to the counter to retrieve his own.

Naruto began walking back to the table with his food before realizing that he had nothing to eat it with. Smiling widely as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand before laughing and turning back to retrieve his chopsticks.

"So Kai," Naruto said, "are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah," Kai responded in between bites, "I'm actually feeling great. I really didn't think that I would be back to normal this quick."

"Wow," Naruto commented, "you must have really been feeling bad then."

Kai nodded and asked, "How long was I out?"

"Oh, only about two hours," Naruto said, shrugging, "there really wasn't any reason for me to leave, so I stayed here while you were sleeping. Then I got hungry, I hope you don't mind."

Kai just grunted his assent and continued to eat his ramen. After a while, Naruto finished his first serving, then his second, and his third, all the while getting more and more sloppy in his preparation. And then as he was brining his fourth back to the table, it happened. Naruto turned from the counter where he had grabbed his ramen cup and prepared to take it back to the table, but as he turned, he slipped and fell flat on his back, sending his ramen cup flying high into the air. Naruto's shock turned to fear as the steaming hot soup spilled out of the cup in midair and fell down on him in a burning hot rain.

Kai jumped up from his seat and rushed over to Naruto, checking to see if he was ok. The orange clad Genin was covered in small burns where his food of choice had fallen onto him. Kai winced slightly as he saw Naruto's face, and the pain revealed in his eyes.

"Hang on Naruto," Kai said, "I'll go get a medic-nin. Just stay right there."

"What else am I supposed to do?" Naruto said, wincing with every word, "Ramen, why have you betrayed me?"

Kai turned from his suffering friend and started to make his way to the front door. Just as he reached the door, Kai's vision started to tunnel inwards. The boy began to feel vertigo as he seemed to fall backwards and then through the floor as his vision faded completely.

----------

Kai woke up lying on his bed in his apartment. The unmistakable aroma of instant ramen was wafting through the atmosphere around him, and he slid out of bed to stumble sleepily into the kitchen, still dressed in his purple and black outfit with all his ninja gear. Upon arriving, he slumped down into a chair at the table, just as Naruto placed a bowl of his favorite ramen in front of him before walking back to the counter to retrieve his instant ramen cup.

Naruto began walking back to the table with his food before realizing that he had nothing to eat it with. Smiling widely as he scratched the back of his head with his free hand before laughing and turning back to retrieve his chopsticks.

"So Kai," Naruto said, "are you feeling any better?" Wait, this seems familiar.

"Yeah," Kai responded in between bites, "I'm actually feeling great. I really didn't think that I would be back to normal this quick." In fact, this is very familiar.

"Wow," Naruto commented, "you must have really been feeling bad"

Kai nodded and asked, "How long was I out?" Two hours.

"Oh, only about two hours," Naruto said, shrugging, "there really wasn't any reason for me to leave, so I stayed here while you were sleeping. Then I got hungry, I hope you don't mind." This is really starting to get weird.

Kai just grunted his assent and continued to eat his ramen. After a while, Naruto finished his first serving, then his second, and his third, all the while getting more and more sloppy in his preparation. As each bowl disappeared into his friend's mouth, Kai's unease grew greater and greater. This was some serious déjà-vu, and Kai was seriously unnerved. And then as he was brining his fourth back to the table, it happened, but this time, Kai was aware enough to do something.

Naruto turned from the counter where he had grabbed his ramen cup and prepared to take it back to the table, but as he turned, he slipped and fell flat on his back, sending his ramen cup flying high into the air. Naruto's shock turned to fear as the steaming hot soup spilled out of the cup in midair, right over his body as he lay in shock from his fall. Kai saw and recognized his friend's predicament and reacted quickly, performing a quick series of hand signs before calling out, "_Kawarimi no__ Jutsu_."

In a poof of smoke, Naruto disappeared, only to be replaced by Kai's chair, the only thing close enough to Kai for the Jutsu to work on. As the two boys fell in a heap, the burning hot soup rained down on the hardwood chair, causing no real damage, but spreading the delicious ramen odor around the kitchen even thicker than it already was.

"Wow," Naruto said, still not moving due to his shock, "that was a really close one."

"Yeah," Kai sighed in relief, slowly starting to get up off of Naruto's chest before turning to help up the orange clad Genin, "you have no idea how close." Kai walked over to the sink and picked up a damp washcloth, before turning back to the mess and beginning to wipe it up.

"Here, let me help, it is my fault anyway," Naruto said, getting his own cleaning implements before beginning to wipe down the ramen-covered chair. The two boys spent the next several minutes cleaning up the spilled noodles, both lost in their own thoughts. Kai was trying to figure out what exactly had happened. He knew that he had experienced the fall and spill before, immediately before in fact, but how could that be possible. Could it all really have been a dream that somehow came true? Or was Kai just going crazy?

Naruto, on the other hand, was busy wondering how Kai had reacted so quickly. It was definitely a good thing that he had, but it still made him curious. Could Kai really be a lot faster and stronger than he was letting on, or was there something else? Oh well, Naruto decided, he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth. With that, he continued to clean up the mess his spilled ramen had made.

After the mess was clean, both boys decided that they weren't hungry anymore, and decided to get outside. This was supposed to be their day of celebration, and they definitely couldn't just stay inside all day long. The two boys exited Kai's apartment, proudly wearing their shiny new hitai-ate, and started walking. They really didn't have any particular goal in mind, but knew that they were not likely to be allowed into any parties because of their reputations. They may not have been able to celebrate with anyone else, but they were still going to make the most of this day, damn it.

Slowly but surely the two boys made their way around Konoha. It was just after five o'clock, they still had a few hours before dark, and they were going to make the most of it. The two boys walked down the streets of Konoha, lost in their own thoughts again: Kai still thinking about his strange "dream" and Naruto trying to think of some way to make the most of their remaining daylight.

Then, just as Naruto began to lose hope, the night turned slightly more interesting, but not necessarily in a good way. A man rounded a corner in front of the two boys, clearly drunk, and pointed at them before shouting, "Hey, it's the demon boy and his corrupted lackey." The drunken man started to stumble toward the two, brandishing an empty sake bottle like a club, filling the night with shouts of "Demon" and "Monster."

Just before the man reached the two boys, they jumped up and over him, before continuing on their leisurely walk down the street. The drunken man didn't react well to this, trying to follow them with his eyes, only ending up making himself fall over backwards before renewing his cursing and shouting at the two boys. Unfortunately for Kai and Naruto, the man's shouting attracted more company, more drunken company.

Seeing what was once a small threat of one drunken man transform suddenly into a huge drunken mob caused Kai and Naruto to decide that they may be better off running, very, very quickly. This, however, was made futile by the fact that there were ninja in the group that, even when drunk, had more skill than the two newly christened Genin.

Suddenly four ninja wearing Jonin vests appeared in front of the two boys. "You two are going to pay for tainting our town with your demonic presence," one of them said, drunkenly brandishing a kunai, "you will pay with your lives."

"The only way you could have become Genin is by using your demonic powers to hypnotize Iruka and Mizuki," another slurred with his intoxicated logic.

"You are going to pay for trying to corrupt our children to serve you," a third slurred, "You will not be allowed to take them from us like you did to the rest of our families!" With that last drunken pronouncement the men charged the two young Genin, who sunk into fighting crouches to try and defend themselves.

The two Genin noticed that they were at a severe disadvantage immediately. Even though the men were severely drunk, there were still four of them compared to the two young boys, and their attackers had much more experience than they did. Kai was having a small amount of luck with his opponent's, their first pass at the boy was foiled by the fact that they had tried to make it at the same time, causing them to trip over each other and fall to the ground in a heap. Kai took this time to create a few _Kage Bunshin_ to help him confuse his opponent's, but did not expect the Jonin to create several of their own. The fight was now seven on three against Kai, not very good at all.

Naruto was not faring much better, his opponent's had managed to coordinate their attacks so that while the first engaged Naruto, the second one dashed around to the boy's side and struck him behind his guard, sending him flying into a nearby brick wall. The two Jonin quickly followed and began pummeling the orange clad Genin further into the wall as he wearily tried to defend himself. After a few minutes, the boy simply went limp, and the Jonin lost interest, seeing their target had stopped responding.

Kai's fight had dropped back down into his favor. Because the Jonin were drunk, their _Kage Bunshin_ were below even the level of an academy student, and could barely move, much less fight, and Kai still had both of his against the two Jonin. He was in the process of working around behind the first of his attackers to render the man unconscious when he felt one of his clones get destroyed. He turned just in time to see the smoke from his clone dissipate around the third drunken ninja while the fourth drove his fist into Kai's last clone, making it vanish as well.

Kai had to abandon his KO attempt as the four Jonin began to drive him toward a wall. "We've got you now boy," one of them slurred as he made his way menacingly toward Kai, "You are too far gone to save from the demon's influence, but we can still save our children from you both right now." Kai knew he was in trouble, but that did not mean he was giving up. Just then he looked past the drunken men preparing to beat him to death, and saw the bruised, battered and bloody form of Naruto, still breathing lightly, imbedded in the brick wall he had hit, blood beginning to stain his orange jumpsuit.

Something seemed to snap inside Kai and the boy suddenly seemed to flinch slightly before he began to laugh. The Jonin were startled, even drunk, they still understood that the boy should not be laughing right now. "You fools," Kai said suddenly in a dark voice, "you really think that you have a chance to defeat me? That has to be one of the funniest things I have ever heard. You actually think that weak," Kai leapt forward and kneed one of the Jonin in the face, sending him to his back, "pathetic," Kai pushed off the first man's face as he hit him and spun in midair, sending his heel into the face of the second Jonin, "fools," after landing from his last attack, Kai turned and dashed forward to plant a solid punch into the gut of his third aggressor causing him to cough up a bit of blood before falling back into the fourth man ,sending both of them to the ground, "could even come close to defeating me." Kai stood looking on at the damage he had caused before turning to look at the crowd of drunken villagers, led by the first man to come across the two boys, "So, do you want some as well?"

The villagers may have been drunk, but they weren't stupid, well not too stupid anyway. They slowly began to back up, most of them sober enough by now to feel the immense killing intent flowing off of the boy and to react to it, most by running, or wetting themselves, or some combination of the two, but some simply fainted. Seeing most of their number leave, the other, more drunken villagers began to run themselves, deciding that they had better things to do than chase after this demon lackey, getting even more drunk for example, the night was still young after all.

As the crowd before him dwindled down to nothing, Kai seemed to slump slightly before raising his hand to his head and groaning slightly and remembering where he was. The boy looked up, surprised to see that the entire crowd was either gone, walking away, or simply lying on the ground in a coma. Then, Kai remembered Naruto, and ran over to his friend before gently checking him for broken bones. Not finding anything broken, Kai gently lifted Naruto up to his shoulder. They had to get out of the town, the drunken mob could return, or wake up, at any moment, and Naruto probably wouldn't be able to survive another beating. Kai leapt up onto the rooftops nearby, and began trying to get his bearings. He could take Naruto to the Hospital, but the doctors there had never much liked his friend, so that was probably not a good idea. Left with only one nearby alternative, Kai turned for the wall surrounding the village and started following the rooftops toward the privacy of the woods on the outskirts of the village.

----------

Mizuki was having a ball. He had successfully infiltrated the Hokage's tower, and had even caught the old man off guard and knocked him out in the lobby. Granted, the Hokage had been a little tipsy from his sake at the time, but still Mizuki had taken care of him on his own, and that made him feel more confident. He knew that he could fulfill his mission.

As he silently swept down the unlit corridors of the tower, he tried to remember where exactly his goal was. It took another ten minutes, as well as several wrong turns, before he managed to finally locate the Hokage's office. After picking the lock on the door, Mizuki slowly entered the room, all senses on alert for any traps that may be present. His caution, however, was met with nothing; apparently the old fool was too trusting of his people.

Mizuki walked over to the Hokage's desk and began feeling around underneath it before he felt a small switch and pressed it, smiling as a section of the wall behind the desk slid aside to reveal a large scroll. Mizuki quickly walked over to the new opening and took the scroll, wanting to get away as quickly as possible. This however was not to be as an alarm sounded just as the scroll was lifted from its place in the hidden cabinet.

Cursing silently, the white haired Chunin swung the scroll around to his back and securely fastened it before throwing a kunai at the nearest window. The glass easily shattered when the sharp projectile hit it, and Mizuki leapt out, landing on a nearby rooftop. Quickly locating the nearest wall, Mizuki began to travel along the rooftops, attempting to get to the forest, and away from Konoha, before the Anbu caught him.

----------

Kai finally landed in the forest outside of Konoha. He had brought Naruto to a small hut just inside the forest where Kakashi had taken them to practice their tree climbing techniques. Slowly, Kai lowered his battered and bloody friend to the ground and began concentrating. He began to think back to earlier in the day, when he had finished his match against Sasuke and performed a healing Jutsu without thinking about it. If he could do that unconsciously, then it must be something in Hito's memories.

After a few minutes of delving through his "memory files" he found what he was looking for and returned to the conscious world. Quickly the purple and black clad Genin kneeled next to Naruto and formed a few hand signs before saying, "_Shosen no__ Jutsu_" Almost immediately, Kai saw a blue glow begin to spread out from his hands and sink into Naruto, who slowly began to breathe more easily as more and more of Kai's chakra was drained by the medical Jutsu.

Soon, Kai's already depleted chakra reached critical levels and he was forced to cancel the Jutsu before he passed out himself. Shifting his position, he sat next to his unconscious friend and let his head sag into his hands, nursing a headache that had been growing ever since the drunken mob had first shown up. He didn't know how much time had passed before the throbbing pain in his skull began to subside, but he knew that it was definitely getting late, probably too late for them to be outside of the village walls without penalty.

Kai looked over at Naruto, knowing that he didn't have the strength to carry his friend back anymore, so he just lay back onto the ground before saying, "You know Naruto, I can't believe what we just went through." Kai laughed slightly before continuing, "We just fought four drunken Jonin and somehow came out of it in one piece, more or less. We have got to be some of the luckiest people in this whole village."

Naruto groaned suddenly sitting up slightly, "Or unluckiest, depending on how you look at it. Man am I sore." The whiskered boy slowly pulled himself into an upright position while Kai did the same next to him. "What exactly happened? The last thing I remember, I was fighting one of the drunks, when something hit me from behind and I ran into a wall, that's it."

"Well," Kai sighed, starting to recover slightly now that his headache was subsiding, "the other ninja you were fighting got behind you and they basically beat you to a bloody pulp against that wall. After that, they all came after me and I really don't remember what happened, but the next thing I knew, they were all unconscious and the mob was leaving. So, I picked you up, carried you here and healed you with the _Shosen no Jutsu_. That's it."

Naruto seemed to withdraw into his thoughts for a few minutes leaving Kai to do the same. What had happened during the fight? It was fairly obvious that he had somehow defeated the four drunken Jonin, but how had he done it? Why couldn't he remember? Kai noticed that Naruto was looking back towards him and decided to think on his problem more at a later date.

"Kai," Naruto started and then faltered slightly, looking down, before continuing, "why? Why are you doing all this stuff for me? No one has ever even tried to help me in any way, but here you are risking your life and almost passing out from chakra depletion just for me. Why?"

Kai just sighed quietly before responding, "Naruto, whenever I first showed up at this village, I had no one. I knew Kakashi-sensei, but that was really only in passing at the time. I really hadn't had any interaction with anyone besides Kakashi and the Hokage while I was getting settled in. Then whenever I joined Iruka-sensei's class at the academy and I met you, I found a friend that I could rely on to help me when I needed it. I think that I did this to help you out for once, since you have helped me out so much since I got here."

"Kai, you don't owe me anything…" Naruto started.

"I didn't say I did it because I owed you something," Kai cut him off quickly; "I did it because you gave me something that I may once have had, but can't remember. You have given me a family; you are the only person that I can trust enough to call my brother. You are my true oni-san, and I will stand by your side no matter what.

Naruto just stood there staring at Kai dumbfounded. No one his age had ever been so nice to him before Kai, and Naruto had secretly been waiting for the day that they were separated by something, or for Kai to begin to hate him just like the villagers did. But now, Kai had just said that he considered Naruto to be his brother. Kai didn't hate him, and would never entertain any thoughts along that line.

Naruto was on the verge of tears, but managed to speak between his sobs, "Kai…I…thank you…I see you the same way…Let's make a promise…" Naruto was unable to continue.

"What kind of promise Naruto?" Kai said quietly, curious as to what Naruto was proposing.

"Well, not really a promise, so much as a vow," Naruto continued after regaining control of himself, "a vow to help each other achieve our goals and to act as family should; a vow to be there for each other, no matter what the circumstances are, and to give aid when it is needed. A vow made between brothers."

"Oni-san," Kai began, smiling," I vow here and now that I will help you to overcome any obstacles that may arise in your way, but you don't need to make the same vow to me."

"Why not?" Naruto asked, confused.

Kai just laughed before saying, "You already helped me with my dream. I have become a ninja, and it was really all thanks to your help. All I ask of you is that you understand that at some point in time, I might have to go away and try to figure out more about my own past and my family, but other than that, I will do whatever I can for you."

Naruto seemed unable to speak for a minute before nodding, "Of course Kai, if that is what you want, but I am still going to help you whenever I can, after all, what are brothers for?"

"Alright boys," a familiar voice called from the trees nearby, "now that you two have bonded, I am afraid that I am going to have to kill you."

----------

Mizuki could not believe his luck. Not only had he escaped the Anbu patrols after his successful break in at the Hokage tower, but now he managed to run across his two most hated students in an isolated area. Before he had taken the scroll, while he still had a place in the village, he would have had to suffice with simply imagining the deaths of these two boys, but since he was on the run anyway, he might as well add some instant gratification into the mix.

He had hated Naruto almost from day one: when that loud mouthed, whiskered demon boy dared to try to become a ninja. The demon who destroyed half of Konoha wanted to help protect it now. Ridiculous, surely the Hokage wouldn't allow it! Mizuki immediately protested to the old man, but it seemed that he was backing Naruto's entrance in to the academy. Met with this insurmountable obstacle, Mizuki had settled to attempting to make life hard for the boy; to try to keep him from graduating. This too failed, mostly. Naruto was unusually resilient in his studies and always foiled Mizuki's every attempt to fail him.

Then this new boy, Wareta Kai, showed up and immediately befriended the demon boy. This angered Mizuki as even more, almost to the point of releasing Killer Intent every time he saw the two boys, and so the hazing spread on to another student, but this one proved to be too hard to break as well. Somehow even passing a fixed final exam that was manipulated to test his weakest areas. The two of them must have been receiving some special training somehow, but Mizuki had yet to figure it out.

The scene that Mizuki intruded upon suited him nicely: his two most hated students in front of him, beaten, bruised, and obviously unable to put up any kind of a fight, completely defenseless and unaware of his presence, not to mention his extreme hostility toward them. To make things better, they were in the middle of some kind of sappy conversation, which gave Mizuki, the villain in the scenario, the perfect opportunity for some cliché, villain type introduction that would catch them off guard and embarrass them in the process.

Feeling very proud of himself for stumbling upon this wonderful opportunity, Mizuki stood straight up on the tree branch he had been crouched on and shouted, "Alright boys, now that you two have bonded, I am afraid that I am going to have to kill you."

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Kai's head jerked around toward the voice to find their most hated teacher standing on a tree branch about fifteen feet away. Naruto had to turn his whole body before he could see the white haired man, but once he set eyes on him he said, "Mizuki-sensei? What are you doing here? And what do you mean kill us?"

Mizuki laughed darkly, "I mean I am going to kill you, you stupid demon fox!"

"Demon fox?" Naruto asked quizzically, turning to Kai, "what is he talking about?"

Kai shrugged, "He is probably just spouting nonsense Oni-san. Don't pay any attention to him."

Mizuki laughed again, "Oh no, it is much more than simple nonsense. Naruto, don't you wonder why all the villagers hate you. Why they have always hated you from the day of your birth, and why they now hate Kai?"

"The villagers are just morons," Naruto shrugged, not quite getting what Mizuki was trying to tell him. Kai, however, caught it. How could Naruto be a demon? Sure he was a little different from everyone else, what with his whiskers and unusually large chakra supply, but that didn't make him a demon. He was just a regular boy, with a lot of chakra and a strange birthmark, that's all.

"You are definitely a stupid one Naruto," Mizuki said, "The reason everyone hates you is because they are afraid of you, or at least of what you used to be."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?" Naruto said, getting angry and falling for Mizuki's bait.

"I am trying to say," Mizuki said smirking, "that you are the de-"

"MIZUKI!" Iruka suddenly burst into the clearing, managing to catch Mizuki's announcement in time to stop him, "You mustn't say anything more Mizuki, it's an S-class secret. You could be executed for it!"

"Like I care," Mizuki said, nonchalantly, "I am leaving this weak village anyway. I have a new master who will happily take me in whenever I show them this." Mizuki pulled the scroll he had taken from the Hokage's office off of his back and smirked as he showed it to Iruka.

"It was you?" Iruka was baffled. Here stood his childhood friend, not only threatening to break a village rule that could get him executed, but revealing himself to be the thief that Iruka had been looking for.

Mizuki returned the scroll to his back, "Yes it would seem that it was," he laughed loudly again, "you are a fool Iruka. You should leave me to my work; it will be less painful for you in the end.

"Naruto," Mizuki turned back to his former pupil again now that Iruka was stunned by his revelation, "like I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted, you are the demo-" Iruka had shaken off his stunned state in time to leap over to Mizuki's tree and knee him in the stomach, causing him to fall out of the tree and land on his back, knocking the wind out of him, with the scroll pinned beneath him.

Mizuki coughed as he tried to catch his breath before rising and glaring at Iruka, who was shaking with rage, all of it directed at his former friend. Mizuki simply stood there, before smirking and opening his mouth to speak. Just as Iruka prepared himself for another insult, Mizuki shot forward and caught Iruka with his own knee to the stomach, sending Iruka flying backwards until he smashed into the wall of the hut. Mizuki then calmly drew several kunai and threw them at Iruka, pinning his clothes to the wall of the building behind him.

"Iruka," Mizuki said in a drawling voice as he scowled at the pinned Chunin, "play nice until I finish with the two kiddies." Mizuki turned to the stunned Genin and began a slow walk over to them, slowly closing the distance to a scant five feet.

"Now Naruto let me continue, again," he glanced around anxiously as if expecting another interruption, "you are the demon fox that attacked Konoha twelve years ago!" Naruto simply sat, shocked. Was that why everyone hated him, because he was a demon?

Before Naruto could sink too far into grief, Kai spoke up, "Naruto don't listen to him. I know you, and you are no demon!"

"He's right Naruto," Iruka spoke faintly, deciding to explain things before Naruto broke down, "you are not the demon, but it is sealed inside of you. The fourth Hokage had to get rid of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, and the only way was to seal it inside a human body without fully developed chakra systems, or in other words, a baby. You were that baby Naruto. You are the jailer for the Kyuubi, but your life has been hard because the villagers saw you as the demon itself, and not as the hero that the fourth wanted. Their vision was clouded by their own hatred for what you saved them from."

"That's enough talk from you," Mizuki shouted suddenly before throwing another kunai at Iruka, this one digging into his right shoulder, causing a spurt of blood to stain the ground in front of the pinned Chunin. Iruka cried out in pain shortly before his injuries, coupled with exhaustion, caused him to pass out.

"IRUKA-SENSEI!" both boys shouted before attempting to run to their teacher's side, but they were blocked by Mizuki.

"Oh no you don't," he smirked, "I still have to kill you two before I can leave the village." Mizuki suddenly dashed forward and punched Kai hard across the face, sending him several feet away, sprawled on the dirt, while Naruto was forced to stop his attempted rescue to barely dodge another punch from the crazed Mizuki.

With Kai not moving from where he landed, Naruto found himself face to face with the white haired Chunin, who seemed intent on ending the young Genin's life very soon. "It's just you and me now Demon Fox!" Mizuki shouted before sending another volley of punches at Naruto, who was forced to stumble backwards to avoid being hit.

Naruto was in shock. He was under attack by a man who he had known for years, and who seemed perfectly willing to inflict bodily harm upon him. Not only that, but this man was intent on leaving the village and was willing to injure or kill anyone that got in his way, even his old friend Iruka. This man may not have been one of his favorite people, but he certainly didn't expect an attack from him. Just as he finished this thought, Naruto felt a tree behind him, and knew that he was out of room. There were only two options in this situation: get hit, or fight back. It was really no decision for the young Genin.

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Mizuki saw the tree behind the boy shortly after the barrage began, and managed to steer the target of his hatred over toward it. When the boy backed into the tree, Mizuki had to fight down a smile at the look of surprise on his face and prepared to deliver a crushing blow, but was shocked when Naruto showed unusual agility and managed to duck under his punch, causing the Chunin to slam his fist into the hard wood of the decades-old tree. His shock only increased when Naruto rose out of his crouch to plant a mighty uppercut to his attacker's stomach, knocking the wind out of the man and sending him staggering back several paces.

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Naruto simply stood there standing in the same position as when he hit Mizuki, staring at his fist in front of him. Mizuki managed to catch his breath and simply glared at Naruto, holding his stomach with one hand while reaching for a kunai with his other.

"You know Mizuki-sensei," Naruto said suddenly, straightening up and catching Mizuki off guard, "I have always known that the villagers hated me, and you were right to guess that I always wondered why. Now that I know why they all hate me I have decided that I don't really care. They can hate me all they want. They can destroy my house, they can refuse to help me, they can abuse me all they want, but that won't change one fact."

"And what might that be Fox?" Mizuki spat out savagely, slowly bringing a kunai out of his hip pouch.

"I am a ninja of Konoha, and I will fulfill my duty to protect and serve my village, and one day, I'm going to become Hokage. When that day comes, I will prove to them that I am no demon. I will prove that I'm not some worthless kid who never does anything right. I'm going to become Hokage, and then everyone will respect me!" Naruto shouted triumphantly, once again catching Mizuki off guard, but not enough to stop him from throwing his kunai at Naruto.

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Kai had lost consciousness when Mizuki had caught him with that first punch, the combined force of the punch and his mad dash to reach Iruka had proven to be great enough to KO him for a while. But as Kai began to wake up he heard a sound that shook him to his soul: Naruto, screaming in pain.

He quickly twisted his head around to see Mizuki, with his back to him, facing Naruto who was slumped at the base of a large tree with a bloody hand holding his equally bloody shoulder while a bloody kunai lay on the ground in front of him. Mizuki was laughing, which only served to piss Kai off. This man, his former teacher and a ninja of Konoha, had attacked them both, had betrayed his village and his students. Mizuki had crossed the line as far as Kai was concerned, and the boy slowly rose to his feet and took a fighting stance.

Mizuki was about to start his verbal abuse of the orange clad Genin, who had been robbed of the advantage again, when he saw the boy's eyes widen slightly. Taking this as a lead, and deciding that Naruto was not a threat currently, Mizuki turned and saw that Kai was once again on his feet, and seemed to be preparing to fight. Deciding that one soon to be dead student was as good as another, Mizuki turned his attention to Kai and began his gloating anew.

"Ah," he said with a smirk, "so the mid-term dead last is back up. You know, it really is too bad that out of all the students in class, you picked Naruto to be your friend. He corrupted you almost right away, all the villagers have seen it, and because of that you must be eliminated along with him."

"And I'm sure that you are the one who spread that rumor to the villagers in the first place," Kai shouted at the offending ninja, "You never liked either of us from day one, and you would have been only too happy to make our lives worse."

Going on as if Kai had never spoken, Mizuki continued, "But, there may still be a chance to save you, you know. My master is very powerful, powerful enough to remove that taint left by a demon on a person's soul. You could be saved; all you have to do is relinquish this Demon Fox and come with me."

Naruto, hearing this, paled, deciding that Kai would leave him just as everyone else he had ever gotten to know had done. Even though he had hoped that his friendship with Kai would last longer, he had been expecting this outcome for some time, regardless of what he had said a few short minutes before. Kai, on the other side of the clearing, slowly relaxed his stance while Mizuki smiled, and relaxed his guard as well. Now all it would take is a fake sealing ritual from his master to convince the boy that he was healed and purified and Kai would be a willing servant, which would also give Mizuki a rank boost to boot. He was not expecting however, to have a fist pound into his gut for the second time in one evening, once again sending him staggering back several paces, gasping for breath.

"You said that you heard us 'bonding' Mizuki-sensei, but you really didn't seem to get the point of what I said," Kai said loudly, causing Mizuki to sneer at him, hate and Killer Intent rolling off him in waves, "Neither Naruto or I have any family that we know about. He has grown up alone, and I recently arrived without any memory of my past and no one who knew me, which effectively put me in the same boat. We have grown together in month since I arrived in Konoha, and I consider him to be my brother, my Oni-san, and I would never even dream of betraying him or this village!" Naruto was brought to tears for two reasons, one: Kai's speech had touched him and reassured him again that he had a friend that would stand by him no matter what, and two: the hole left in his shoulder by Mizuki's kunai was throbbing painfully every time that he moved, and was only made worse by his sobbing.

After finishing his declaration, Kai rushed over to the still panting Mizuki and began to press his advantage, sending punches and kicks at every possible opening he saw. Mizuki was hard pressed to keep up, but that was slowly changing as he continued to recover from Kai's first blow. Slowly, the direction of the exchange began to shift until Mizuki was no longer backing up, the two were deadlocked, and Naruto was too injured to help Kai shift it back into his favor.

Kai found himself in a kind of trance, one where he was not exactly conscious of his actions, almost as if someone else were controlling him. But Kai was astonished to find that, even after his opponent recovered, he was still able to hold his own against Mizuki.

Said Chunin was equally surprised that this boy was managing to hold off his impending doom through skill that he shouldn't have. This revelation only served to enrage and invigorate the white haired traitor, who redoubled his efforts and began putting more force behind his blows.

This began to wear Kai down. Even though he was doing well, he was still blocking the majority of Mizuki's attacks, and the extra force took an extra toll on him with each hit. Finally, Mizuki got in a luck hit and managed to knock Kai's arms wide allowing for a kick to send the purple clad Genin flying back to slide along the ground into a tree across the clearing.

"Oni-san!" Naruto cried from behind Mizuki.

"Calm down Naruto," Mizuki said drawlingly, "you'll get your chance, and when you do, you will wish that you were as dead as Kai will soon be." As Mizuki started walking over to Kai's prone body, he pulled out his final kunai, intending to plunge it into the young boy's heart and end his life quickly. He didn't like the boy, but he put up a good fight, and that is something that any person who fights for a living can appreciate.

As Mizuki drew ever closer to Kai, he noticed that the young boy was shaking slightly. He was still conscious! Even if only barely. Mizuki raised his guard again, not wanting to let anything get past him this time; he would not be caught off guard like that again. Slowly, the Chunin walked over to Kai and was just about to raise his kunai into the air for the final blow when he noticed why Kai was shaking: he was laughing. But this laugh did not seem like the kind of laugh one would picture from a twelve year old boy. This laugh was deep and dark, one that spoke of a soul consumed by darkness.

While Mizuki was stunned by this strange development, Naruto had managed to get to his feet and was preparing to throw Mizuki's kunai back at its former owner when he heard Kai's laugh carry across the clearing. Naruto immediately fell back onto the ground, dropping the kunai in the process. Naruto was stunned by Kai's laugh. Just the thought that something so evil could come from a boy like Kai was too much for the orange clad Genin to fathom.

Kai slowly rose and turned toward Mizuki, still laughing quietly as he looked down before saying, "Ah Mizuki, poor, poor Mizuki. You actually thought that you would be able to get away with your badly planned escape. You actually thought that you would succeed in your plan to betray this village. You actually thought that you could beat me!" With that Kai looked up toward the Chunin, displaying a face contorted in pure rage before disappearing from sight. Mizuki and Naruto were stunned, not only by the tone of voice that Kai spoke in or by his speech but by his disappearing act. Mizuki was shocked that they boy could disappear like that without any hand signs or any sign of a _Kawarimi_. Naruto was just all around shocked.

Suddenly Mizuki was send flying to the side by a powerful punch thrown by Kai, who flashed into view before vanishing again. Naruto was stunned by the skill Kai was suddenly showing, but not nearly as much as Mizuki, who just managed to regain control of his fall before hitting the ground, planting his hand and flipping over into a crouch. Just as he landed Kai appeared again, this time behind him, and drove his foot into the back of Mizuki's head, sending the man face first into the dirt.

With a groan Mizuki started to rise before being shoved back into the dirt by Kai's foot on his back. "Mizuki-sensei," Kai said, wagging his finger at him mockingly, "you shouldn't try to get up; I might have to hurt you more if you do. And I don't think you want to hurt any more." Kai began laughing again as he removed his foot from Mizuki's back.

Mizuki, for his part, knew he was in trouble; he wasn't stupid, just really confused. This Genin was exhibiting skills far beyond what he should have been able to do, and it was throwing Mizuki off. But this amazement was only temporary, and Mizuki quickly became angry, feeling just as much fury toward Kai as the boy had shown him only moments before. Taking a chance, Mizuki pumped his arms quickly and rolled away from Kai, before popping up to his feet and taking a defensive stance, facing the Genin.

If Kai was surprised by this action, he didn't show it, simply sinking into a fighting stance of his own and waiting for Mizuki to make the first move. The Chunin hesitated only slightly, thinking of the boys match with Sasuke, before charging in and attempting to punch Kai in the face. The boy reacted just as Mizuki had suspected, by spinning away from the punch, exposing his back just long enough for Mizuki to shift the momentum of his punch to the side, using the force to let him to spin as well, as he sunk down and swept Kai's feet out from under him, sending the boy to the ground.

Naruto just watched, dumbfounded, as Kai lost the advantage as quickly as he had gained it. He still didn't know what was going on with Kai and his quick personality change, but it wasn't something that he wanted to worry about right now, Kai needed his help, and he wasn't about to let him down. Slowly, resting a lot of his weight on the tree behind him, Naruto rose to his feet and picked up the kunai that he had been holding before.

"Naruto, oni-san," Kai said as he slowly rose to his elbows, now back to normal," don't, you can't fight him. I am going to fulfill my promise; you helped me achieve my goal, and I have to help you." Kai fought to his feet, holding his head as he rose, and stumbled into a wide stance once he gained his feet.

"Stupid boy," Mizuki said, "you are finished, but if you want to die sooner, so be it." Mizuki then jumped back several feet and took a fighting stance.

"Kai!" Naruto shouted, "Get away, you can't fight him. You are in even worse shape than I am!"

"No Naruto," Kai responded with his head down as he panted heavily, "I am going to help you, I made a promise and I won't go back on it!" As Kai finished talking, he looked up and Mizuki gasped. Kai was staring at Mizuki with an intense gaze that would have sent any normal person running, but that was not what had surprised the Chunin. Kai's eyes had changed, and Mizuki knew that couldn't be good.

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Kai slowly rose to his feet and stumbled into a wide stance, "No Naruto, I am going to help you, I made a promise and I won't go back on it!" As Kai looked up at his opponent, he saw the dumbfounded look on his face, and Naruto sitting on the ground still, the kunai in his hand again; at least he had a weapon. The only thing that Kai had to worry about now was Mizuki and his own quickly depleting chakra supply. Something was draining Kai's chakra rapidly, but he couldn't figure out what it was. Putting the thought out of his mind, Kai decided to focus only on his upcoming fight.

Just as Kai began to form a plan, Mizuki moved. Kai's former teacher began to charge him, low to the ground, and Kai took a small step to the side, so that he could spin away from his teacher's charge, and counterattack, but suddenly, Mizuki wasn't charging anymore. Without any sign of a jump, Mizuki was in the air, heading right for Kai with his fist drawn back to punch at him. Keeping his focus, Kai dropped to the ground, giving enough space for Mizuki to fly over his head, which would allow Kai to counter. But once again, Mizuki simply wasn't in the air anymore. Instead, he was back on the ground. Only this time, he was right in front of Kai aiming a low, hooked punch for his face. Kai had no time to react at all and closed his eyes as he braced himself for the impact that would surely send him flying into the tree behind him. But the blow didn't come, at least not for several seconds. Kai relaxed slightly when he didn't get hit right away, and was caught off guard by the punch that sent him flying into a large tree behind him. This time, he was knocked out.

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Mizuki stood in his stance, trying to figure out what was going on with Kai's eyes. He knew that his eyes changing had some sort of significance for the village, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. Then suddenly, he remembered, the Uchiha! When an Uchiha unlocked their kekkei genkai, the Sharingan, their eyes change, a sure sign of a Dojutsu bloodline limit. If that was what this was, then Mizuki had to stop him before he figured out how to use it, or it could spell big trouble for his escape plan!

Suddenly, before Mizuki could begin to move in, Kai sidestepped slightly. Mizuki stopped before re-evaluating his attack, but then, Kai dropped down to a squat, leaning back slightly with one hand planted behind him. Mizuki again stopped and waited as Kai suddenly tensed slightly, as if anticipating a blow. Not one to disappoint, Mizuki quickly ran forward and watched at Kai relaxed just a little, before the Chunin's fist connected with his former student's face and sent the boy back into a tree behind him, before he slumped down to the ground, finally unconscious.

Smiling in success, Mizuki turned back to Naruto to retrieve his kunai and finish the job, but found that the boy was once again on his feet, and was fixing the traitorous Chunin with a glare just as intense as the one he had received from Kai just minutes before.

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Naruto saw Kai's eyes change, and his actions afterward and just remained confused. He was not, however, too confused to see his best friend fall to the ground with his head rolling limply on his neck. He was not too confused to know that it was up to him now. And he was not too confused to know that he had to stand up again.

Slowly rising to his feet, Naruto grasped the kunai in his hand tightly, preparing to attack Mizuki, hoping to catch him off guard, only to have his teacher turn to face him with a smirk on his face. "Oh really Naruto," Mizuki said, "do you really think that you can defeat me, especially in the shape you are in? You must long for death."

Naruto's face turned dark as he glared at Mizuki who only laughed before saying, "I'll kill you first, and then Kai and Iruka will follow. Maybe you will all meet up in the afterlife." Mizuki laughed again, causing the Genin's face to darken even more.

"You can threaten me all you want," the orange clad ninja said quietly, but still loud enough for Mizuki to hear, "but the moment you threaten the people that mean the most to me, the only ones who ever acknowledged my existence, we have a problem. And you don't want to have a problem with me!" Mizuki recoiled from the KI released by the suddenly enraged blonde as the boy formed a cross hand sign with two fingers from each hand and shouted, "_Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" Suddenly, with a large poof of smoke, the entire clearing was filled with copies of Naruto.

Mizuki was taken aback. One moment, he was in charge of the situation, and the next, terribly outnumbered. He took a stumbling step backward as he recognized the Jutsu. He should have remembered that both of these boys could use _Kage Bunshin_, and it would only stand to reason that with Naruto's enormous chakra supply, he would be able to create dozens.

"Come on Mizuki-sensei," the Naruto clones said mockingly, "a moment ago, you were ready to go. You said something about killing all of us, what happened to that?" As the clones all spoke, several of them were detaching Iruka from the hut's bloodstained wall, while a few more were busy trying to revive Kai.

"N-now Naruto," Mizuki stammered, "Let's not b-be hasty here…"

"Enough talk traitor!" the Naruto clones shouted before they all ran forward and began attacking Mizuki as one. The Chunin got lucky for a while, managing to get in some hits on the first few, causing them to disappear in a puff of smoke, before he was swamped.

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Every person who happened to pass by the western side of Konoha in the few minutes that followed heard screaming coming from somewhere in the woods nearby, but it was not necessarily as bad as they would ended up reporting to Konoha's Anbu, but people often over exaggerate things like that. After receiving dozens of reports from concerned citizens, the Anbu were forced to send a squad to check it out. When the Anbu squad arrived in the clearing they were met with the sight of Naruto, beating a seemingly lifeless body into the ground, while Iruka and Kai were slumped against the wall of a nearby hut, staring, dumbfounded, at Naruto. By the time the Anbu recovered from the initial shock, they were only just in time to pull Naruto off of the unconscious form of Mizuki before the man was beaten to death. However, they were not inclined to believe the story told by the blond Genin, even though Kai reinforced everything he said.

Most of them were predisposed to believe that the boy was lying, but all doubts were laid to rest when the Hokage arrived and confirmed the boy's story, saying that he had watched the whole thing in his weird crystal ball thingy from the Hokage tower. In the aftermath, the Sandaime made sure that both the boys and their teachers were taken to the hospital, although Mizuki was placed in a significantly higher security area, and took extra measures to ensure their safety for the duration of their stay.

With a sigh, the Sandaime Hokage retired to his bed much later than he would have liked. The night was wild enough with all the drunken celebrations, and many Genin would be suspended as soon as they were assigned to their teams for infractions committed during these celebrations, but Naruto and Kai's escapade topped the night off. Mizuki would be interrogated, and the boys would be completely healed before it was time for their team assignments. This was already turning out to be an interesting graduating class, and it only seemed like it was going to get even more so. Groaning slightly at the thought, the Hokage turned underneath his sheets and settled into sleep.

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AN: Here it is, my longest chapter yet, 25 pages on Word compared to the 10 pages from each of the earlier chapters, but I can honestly say that this won't happen again, at least not for a while.

Here is the Jutsu list, a few more this time around:

_Henge_: Transformation

_Shosen no Jutsu_: Mystical Palm Technique

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu: _Shadow Clone Technique

_Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Mass Shadow Clone Technique

_Kawarimi no Jutsu_: Replacement Technique

And for those who don't know, a Dojutsu is literally translated as an eye technique, like the Sharingan and Byakugan. Yeah, that's about it right now…. Review please; I can't get better without your input.


	5. Chapter 5

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Chapter 5

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AN: Now for number five. I am starting to get out of the completely original stuff that I had planned for the beginning and coming into re-telling the Naruto storyline with Kai added in. I already have a few ideas for how I am going to do things, but most of it is still a work-in-progress. I got this chapter done a little earlier than I had planned for, and I decided to go ahead and post it after a friend of mine called me and said he was reading my fic. So this chapter is dedicated to Gogeta11123. Now, with no further adieu, here is chapter 5.

Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto or anything directly associated with it, although I do own Kai. : )

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Kai woke up groaning. He was sore all over, and was not enjoying it. Looking around himself, Kai noticed two things immediately: one, he was in a white room; two, his clothes had been replaced by a very thin, very revealing, white gown. Upon further inspection of his room, Kai found his clothes sitting on the table next to him; appearing to be in much better condition than when he had last worn them. Naruto, or someone with him, must have retrieved some of Kai's extra clothes from his apartment.

Suddenly, Kai sat straight up. What about team placements? How long had he been unconscious? Was it long enough for him to have missed his chance to be a real ninja? Would he have to wait for another year until the next Genin class graduated before he could join his own team? With these disturbing thoughts running through his head, Kai almost missed the door to his room being thrown open suddenly, banging against the wall and revealing Naruto, standing with his arm extended, having just thrown the door open, and looking slightly upset about something.

The odd thing was, there was absolutely no noise. Despite the fact that the door had flew into the wall with enough force to leave a small dent, there was no other sign that it had happened other than what Kai saw, not even a breeze from the flying door. Kai shook his head, thinking he must be loosing it before looking back up and seeing Naruto had walked over to him, his lips moving, but no noise coming out. This only served to confuse the Genin even more.

By this point, Naruto had sat down next to Kai, with a worried look on his face, and reached out toward him, seemingly to place a comforting hand on Kai's shoulder, but the problem was, his hand was going too low. Naruto was currently reaching for Kai's stomach, which seemed strange enough to the young Genin, so he moved his hand to block Naruto's. That was when Kai felt a tremendous test on his sanity, as Naruto's hand simply passed through Kai's and his fingertips went into Kai's stomach.

Needless to say, Kai was freaking out. His best friend had just pierced his body with his bare hands. But just like with his last two experiences, there was no other sign that it had happened: no blood, no pain, no sound, nothing. Kai slowly sank down on his bed until he was lying almost flat. Something was going on here, and it was not something that Kai was comfortable with.

With Genin team placements far from his mind, Kai began trying to figure out what was going on. Naruto, as Kai saw him, had withdrawn his hand almost immediately, and was now sanding a few feet from the bed. Kai groaned again and closed his eyes, still trying to figure things out. Quickly falling into his mindscape, Kai began searching through Hito's memories, hoping to find something that could explain what was going on, but not really expecting any success. As his search grew even more crazed, the image of Naruto piercing his stomach playing over on what basically amounted to floating television screens drifting around him.

Kai had learned quickly that trips into his mindscape usually had different 'backgrounds' that all depended on his mood. When he was calm, the mindscape was calm as well, usually simply being a boring room or something similar, unless Kai decided to change it. It would seem, however, that if Kai had something on his mind, it would plague him even here.

Kai was so engrossed in his feverish search for an answer within his own mind, that he barely felt the breeze that washed over him a moment later, and barely heard what would have been an uncomfortably loud bang if he had been completely conscious. Something was going on. Kai, however, only came to this conclusion in a small part of his mind, a part that was completely over powered by his determination to find an answer in Hito's memories, and quickly vanished.

But no matter how deeply engrossed in his work he might have been, even Kai's single minded, even frantic, determination was pierced like a shot in the dark when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Kai quickly left his mindscape and opened his eyes again in time to hear a voice, "...an? What's wrong?" It was Naruto's voice, and it sounded as though his friend was right next to him, but Kai saw only an empty room with absolutely no sign of the orange clad Genin.

"Naruto? Is that you? Where are you?" Kai questioned, trying to fight down panic.

"What do you mean Kai; I am right next to you." Naruto answered, seemingly puzzled.

"I mean I don't see you," Kai said looking frantically around the room before feeling his head being held in place by a pair of hands, facing toward the side of his bed facing the door.

"I'm right in front of you," Naruto said slowly, as if speaking that way would help him see better.

"I can tell that from where your voice is coming from," Kai responded, his fear mixing with a growing irritation as his blonde friend seemed unable to understand what he was trying to say, "but all I can see is an empty room."

Naruto seemed to sigh in exasperation before Kai felt him jerk slightly before he felt that his friend had leaned very close to his face, "Kai," Naruto said in a questioning voice, "what's wrong with your eyes. They're all weird."

"Huh?" Kai asked, suddenly perplexed, "What do you mean weird?"

"I mean they aren't their normal color any more, they're just different." Naruto was too perplexed to offer any more than that. How could he describe to his friend that his normally green eyes had changed so drastically. Well it was obvious how he could, but Naruto just found that he couldn't seem to form the words.

Taking a deep breath to calm himself, Kai said, "Why don't you try and explain what you mean by different. Like, what exactly do they look like?"

"Well," Naruto said, picking up on the slight irritation in Kai's voice, "they're all black, except for the middle, which is a white three-pointed star, like a three-pronged shuriken, and its spinning. There is also one little circle on one side of each eye, in between two prongs on each star, and its moving with the rotation of the star."

Kai began thinking, before suddenly inspiration hit him, "Dojutsu!"

"Huh?" Naruto said stupidly, releasing his hold on Kai's head as he backed away.

"I learned something during one of my memory sorting sessions." Kai was talking quickly now excited that he may have found the answer, "And one of the reasons that Hito wanted me was because my family has a Dojutsu for a kekkei genkai! I have a bloodline ability and I think this might be it!"

"Oh!" Naruto said, finally getting what Kai was saying, "So, what do we do now?"

Kai had to admit that Naruto had him there, but suddenly said, "Go get Kakashi-sensei, or Iruka-sensei, or somebody! Somebody who can help, I have to stay here or the doctors will probably decide to strap me down or something!" Kai immediately felt that the last part didn't make sense, but that feeling was quickly quashed by his elation and euphoria.

"Oh, right!" Naruto practically shouted, "I'll be right back!" And Kai felt the breeze as his friend rushed away and winced as the door flew open before slamming shut, leaving Kai in total silence again.

Kai now found himself in an unusual situation, he was effectively blind, except for himself, and he really didn't want to stay in this stupid gown any longer than he had to. Sighing, Kai decided to see if he could get dressed without getting confused by his suddenly strange vision. But when he looked over to where his clothes had been, they were now gone.

Kai moved over to the side of his bed to see if Naruto had knocked them down to the floor, only to catch a glimpse of his black and purple clad arm. His clothes were already on him, but he could still feel the hospital gown when he felt for his ninja clothing. Kai only groaned again when he felt on the table and found his clothes still there, even if he couldn't see them. Kai sighed again; this Dojutsu was almost turning out to be more trouble than it was worth. Kai swung his legs over the edge of his bed and stood up before setting about trying to get dressed without relying on his eyesight.

----------

Naruto was running through the village as fast as he could go. Where would Kakashi-sensei or Iruka-sensei be? Trying to think like his teachers would, Naruto dashed around, fueled by adrenaline and determination, hoping that he could find them quickly so that they could make sure nothing was wrong with Kai.

Naruto had been greatly unnerved when he had seen Kai's eyes. The overall effect was definitely creepy, and Naruto hadn't known what to think. The only reason that he hadn't freaked out in the hospital was because Kai had seemed to come up with an answer fairly quickly.

So now Naruto was searching the whole village, trying to find their teachers, but at least he had something helpful to do. Wait, this wasn't helpful, this was stupid. Why should he take the time to get his teachers, when it would be more efficient to go straight to the top? Naruto stopped on a rooftop before getting his bearings and setting off again in a different direction.

----------

Sarutobi had been right. With all the paperwork that came from Mizuki's defection and defeat at the hands of the two new Genin, he had been forced to skip lunch just to get it back to a relatively manageable level. At least he had the consolation of knowing that Kai and Naruto were alright, even though Mizuki was very much not. Sarutobi chuckled as he remembered reading Ibiki's interrogation report earlier that morning. The man had written only one sentence: "Subject Mizuki is too severely injured to be interrogated; recovery time is anticipated to be two months." Just the sheer amount of disappointment that the Hokage had felt in those words was enough to bring a small smile to his face. That man almost enjoyed his job too much.

But life went on, as the saying goes, and those in the village who knew about what happened had pretty much already forgotten about last nights events, unless they had been directly involved. The Sandaime knew that there would be rumors floating about soon that had to do with Naruto's demon power being unleashed, and it would probably only bring more trouble for the boy.

Suddenly, as if summoned by the thought, the doors to Sarutobi's office were thrown open, revealing the blonde Genin, panting for breath with half of the Hokage's security ANBU behind him.

"Hokage-sama," the closest ANBU said, "we tried to stop him, but he just wouldn't listen, and..."

"It's alright," the Hokage said, waving his hand airily, "I will see Naruto if he believes that what he has to say is important enough to come in here like this." The Third looked questioningly at the Genin, hoping that he really did have a good reason for this.

Naruto, as if sensing the Hokage's concern nodded before saying, "Hai, old man," this lack of respect caused several of the ANBU to flinch, probably glaring at Naruto under their masks, "it is important." Naruto had to pause here to catch his breath again.

However, one of the ANBU seemed unwilling to wait, "Hurry up boy," he shouted, "don't waste any more of the Hokage's time than you must!"

Naruto rounded on the man and shouted, "Shut up!" before turning back to the Hokage and saying, "It's Kai."

Sarutobi was instantly interested, and sat up a little straighter, "Go ahead Naruto, what about Kai, did something happen?"

Naruto turned again and glared at the ANBU, "I don't think that _they_ should know about it, but I promise you that it is important."

Sarutobi waved his hand again, "Very well, ANBU, return to your posts." The ninja standing behinds Naruto quickly jumped back to attention before sounding a group "Hai," and disappearing in several swirls of leaves, after which, Naruto stepped over and closed the doors to the Hokage's office.

"Now Naruto," Sarutobi said, "there are no other listeners here, what exactly happened to Kai."

Naruto sighed and slumped down into a chair before looking up at the Hokage, "Well, I went to see Kai at the hospital, right?" Sarutobi nodded. "But when I got there, he was slumped down really far in his bed with his eyes closed. At first I thought he was asleep, but then I noticed how he was breathing and decided that he couldn't be asleep judging by the speed. So I walked over to him and put my hand on his shoulder, since he hadn't seemed to hear me when I entered, but when I touched him, he practically jumped out of the bed and nearly hit me with his arms flailing around so much."

Sarutobi was mildly interested, although he kept his face carefully neutral. Naruto certainly had an interesting story, but he still failed to see what was so important about him scaring the young ninja, "Go on,"

Naruto continued after catching his breath again, "Anyway, then Kai started asking if it was me, and then he started saying that he couldn't see me, even though he was looking right at me. I even held his head so that he was staring right at me, but that was when I saw what was wrong."

"And that was…" Sarutobi prompted, getting slightly more interested.

"Kai's eyes were different, old man, they weren't normal. I was about to freak out, but then Kai suddenly started talking about Hito, and bloodline abilities, and how he thinks that that is what it was." Naruto finished in a rush, smiling widely, as the Hokage simply sat there trying to absorb what the boy had just said.

Suddenly, it seemed to register with him, "What!?" the Sandaime said, jumping over his desk to get right in front of Naruto, "did you say that Kai thinks he has a bloodline?"

Naruto nodded, slightly surprised by the Hokage's reaction, "He said that in one of Hito's memories, he had learned one of the reasons that Hito was after him: because of his family bloodline. The only problem is, so far all it seems to do is screw up his vision, since he can't see anyone…"

Sarutobi began thinking. This could be trouble, especially if the council every found out. Kai could end up being forced to retire as a ninja before he even got started if it turned out that he had a bloodline that was actually useful, which would seem to be the case since someone had been trying to steal it. The council may decide to enact the Clan Reconstruction Act, and just use him for breeding stock until the bloodline began to show up in his children, which could take years, effectively ending his ninja career. Something like that could be devastating to the boy, "Alright Naruto, we are going to the hospital to see Kai right now. If he is right about this, then we need to contain the situation before anyone else finds out."

Naruto nodded as the Hokage placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder before the two of them were engulfed in a swirl of leaves, leaving the office, only to arrive in front of a very shocked nurse in the hospital lobby.

----------

Kai was not having a good time. He had been at this for several minutes, and all he had managed to do was knock his clothes on the floor, lose his hitai-ate, and get the stupid hospital gown off of him. He really hoped that Naruto didn't return before he could get dressed. Kai really didn't like the idea of Naruto walking in with their teachers while Kai was stumbling around blindly in his purple boxers.

Finally, after a few more minutes of blind searching, Kai found his headband underneath his bed and placed it safely on his pillow, before feeling for his pants further down the bed where he had placed them earlier. Finding said item, Kai then began feeling for the front, which he found after a few seconds of frustrated searching, during which he decided that he didn't like his bloodline all that much anymore, before bending down to put them on.

Kai's back was to the door, but that didn't stop him from hearing it slowly creak open or feeling the breeze come in from the hallway through the newly created opening, giving him goose bumps when it hit his nearly naked body. Freezing for a moment before turning to the door, Kai said, "Is someone there?" only to hear the door practically slam shut and the sound of light footsteps quick-walking away. Kai shrugged, deciding that it was just a nurse coming to check on him, and continued struggling with his pants.

----------

Naruto was hard pressed to keep up with the Hokage as he walked down the hallway toward Kai's hospital room. The old man seemed to be in a huge hurry, which, while not bothering Naruto in the least, did seem a little extreme. Sarutobi was in such a rush, he barely stopped to mumble an apology when he bumped into a red-faced Yamanaka Ino as she passed with her eyes trained on the floor, seeming to be mumbling to herself.

When Naruto pointed out Kai's door to the Hokage as they approached, the old man only seemed to speed up even more, practically throwing the door open in his hurry, barely leaving enough time for Naruto to enter before he quickly closed it again.

Sarutobi actually was in a hurry. Every second that it took him was another second that the council had to find out what was going on with Kai. He knew that he was probably being paranoid, but he was tired of the council undermining his decisions and taking good people out of service for their own gains. Whether it was through clan management laws or Danzo's Root ANBU program, the Hokage was getting sick of it all. He knew that the only way for Kai to be able to protect himself from a council imposed fate was for him to gain rank and experience. Until that point, Sarutobi knew that it was up to him to keep Kai safe.

When the two ninja walked into the room, they were greeted by the image of Kai, with his shirt on backwards, just sitting down and reaching for his hitai-ate, which he then tied onto his forehead. Naruto had to stifle a little laugh, but at least Kai's hitai-ate was the right way around.

Kai jerked slightly when he heard the noise, having closed his eyes a few minutes before to keep the distracting images from registering, which would only serve to confuse him even more, and turned toward the door, asking, "Who's there?"

"I'm back Oni-san," Naruto said, cheerfully, "and I brought the Hokage!"

Kai recoiled slightly, surprised that Naruto would have gone straight for the top of the ladder, "I just asked for one of our sensei Naruto," he mumbled, "you didn't have to get the Hokage, I really don't want to worry him with something stupid like this." Kai was blushing in embarrassment now, afraid that the Hokage would be angry that he had been called here just because Kai, who was only a new Genin, couldn't see.

The Hokage chuckled for a moment before saying, "On the contrary, Naruto was very right to come and get me. You see, if you do indeed have a bloodline, we need to keep it under wraps. Only a very specific group of people can be allowed to know, because otherwise, you career as a ninja could be over."

Both boys began showing concern on their faces before Kai slowly said, "What do you mean Hokage-sama?"

Sarutobi smiled again, this time at the show of formality that Kai's friend refused to show, and responded, "If the council were to find out about you having a potentially powerful bloodline, they could try to enact Clan Reconstructions laws that would basically remove you from active duty on a permanent basis."

"Why would they do that old man?" Naruto asked.

Sarutobi quickly tried to think of how to word his next statement, before blushing very slightly and saying, "Basically they will make Kai get married, probably to several women at once, and…uh… start 'making an heir' who could possess his bloodline. They will basically try to rebuild your clan, or, in other words, try to gain more ninja with your bloodline, making it more useful to Konoha."

Kai just sat there for a moment, picking on his shirt, which was uncomfortable for some reason, before his "stolen" memories put the Hokage's words in a whole new light. "WHAT!?!" Kai practically shouted, "You mean I wouldn't be able to be a ninja just because the council would find my eyes, and creating more ninja with them, to be more important than my career and life?!?"

Naruto, still not understanding, merely gave out a confused, "Huh?"

But Sarutobi could tell that Kai understood what he had been getting at and, deciding that was enough, cleared his throat before saying, "Precisely, Kai. Now do you see why we need to deal with this without informing multiple people?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kai said, looking down. He couldn't believe that he could be in this much danger of having his dream ended before it really even began.

"However," the Hokage said, getting Kai's attention again, "I think that it is very possible for us to keep that secret until you can protect yourself, which shouldn't be too long after you become a Chunin. You will just have to work as hard as possible to become Chunin at your first chance; otherwise, there could be trouble. As a Chunin, you will be acknowledged as a leader, and as such, will have the authority to defend yourself from the council."

"But Hokage-sama," Kai said, getting depressed again, "I have no idea what my bloodline does. The only thing I know is that it's called the Miraigan and that Hito thought it was powerful enough to try to get it for himself."

"First things first Kai," the Hokage said, thinking quickly," I think we need to bring another person into this group first." With that the Hokage produced a piece of paper and a pencil from within his robes and wrote a quick note before forming a hand seal. Suddenly, a small bird appeared which Sarutobi tied his note to, before walking over to the window and opening it, sending the bird out.

"What was that old man?" Naruto queried, watching the bird disappear from sight.

"I was simply requesting some help Naruto." The Hokage responded,"All there is left to do now is wait. And in the mean time Kai, you may want to fix your shirt…" Kai suddenly felt his shirt front and realized why it had been so uncomfortable, before blushing as Naruto and the Hokage chuckled.

----------

Around ten minutes after the bird had been sent out, in which time Kai fixed his shirt, Kai jumped as he saw a swirl of leaves suddenly appear at the foot of his bed. From the swirl, a man dressed in a very formal white outfit stepped to the side before bowing to the Hokage and glaring at Naruto. What surprised Kai the most was that this man had no pupils in his light violet eyes.

"Hokage-sama," Kai asked questioningly, "I see another person, but I don't hear anything."

Sarutobi glanced at a wall-mounted clock before nodding and saying, "Alright Kai, just pay it no attention for now," before he turned back toward the clock, looking thoughtful.

Naruto could tell that the Hokage had an idea, but decided against voicing his suspicions, thinking that it could get Kai hoping for nothing. A short while later, Naruto jumped slightly as a swirl of leaves suddenly appeared at the foot of Kai's bed, eventually clearing to reveal a man dressed in a formal white outfit with no pupils in his violet eyes. The man turned to the Hokage and walked over, bowing when he stopped, before turning slightly and giving Naruto a dark look.

"You called for me Hokage-sama?" the as of yet unidentified man asked.

"Yes I did Hiashi, and I thank you for coming so quickly," the Hokage responded after looking away from the clock, nodding his head in acknowledgement, "Naruto, Kai, this is Hyuga Hiashi, the head of the Hyuga clan. He is the one I sent for."

Naruto simply nodded his head, not wanting to say anything to this man, who seemed hostile towards him, much like the rest of the village. Kai, however turned to the left and bowed his head slightly from his position on his bed and said, "Thank you for coming Hyuga-sama." What Kai didn't know was that he was not looking directly at where Hiashi was; rather he was looking slightly to the right.

Hiashi nodded, seeing the situation that the Hokage had laid out in his note was not at all exaggerated. "You see Hiashi," Sarutobi said, noticing where Hiashi's gaze was resting, "we believe that the boy has a Dojutsu bloodline that may be obscuring his vision. The reason that I asked you to come was to see how his chakra is flowing with your Byakugan, and use your expertise to decide if he can shut it off manually or, if you have to, perform Jyuuken to forcibly deactivate it. While it is on, Kai is literally unable to function; until he learns to control it that is."

Hiashi nodded before stepping closer to Kai and saying, "Please do not move, it will make things easier on both of us," before activating his Byakugan, veins popping out around his eyes as Kai nodded his agreement before staying as still as he possibly could. Hiashi looked toward the boy on the bed, carefully studying his chakra system as he began talking again, "His chakra system is normal, but there is a flow that is constantly heading toward his eyes. It is very possible that this chakra flow is fueling his kekkei genkai; it looks very similar to when the Byakugan or Sharingan are being used. In my opinion, if he were to simply recognize the chakra flow, which I don't see how he hasn't, it would be easy for him to shut it off." Hiashi then deactivated his Byakugan and stepped back to the wall behind him.

Kai suddenly felt ashamed. Sure he had been fairly frantic from what he had seen, but he still should have checked his chakra flow almost right away. Sighing, Kai settled himself into a trance and began feeling for his chakra system. Finding the chakra line that Hiashi had mentioned, Kai shut the flow off, and immediately felt better. The chakra drain must have been going since before he had woken up. Kai had not noticed it at first, but he certainly felt its absence now that he was free of it.

Slowly, almost fearfully, Kai opened his eyes and saw Naruto, so close that he was almost invading Kai's personal space. Behind his friend, Kai saw the Hokage and Hiashi, talking quietly. "Did it work Kai?" Naruto asked and Kai nodded in relief upon seeing that the speech fit with the movement of Naruto's mouth.

Kai turned his attention to the Hokage in time to see Hiashi nod and disappear in a swirl of leaves before the Sandaime walked over and addressed the two boys. "Alright you two," he said, "I have explained the situation with Kai's bloodline, and he has agreed to keep the secret to himself as well as to use his position on the council to keep you out of the arena of discussion."

Kai turned fully toward the Hokage, "Thank you again for your help Hokage-sama. Now all we have to do is figure out what exactly the Miraigan does."

"Actually Kai," Sarutobi said, smiling at the surprised look on the boy's face, "I might have some idea about what it does."

"What is it old man?" Naruto said, clearly not wanting to wait for too long.

"I think that the Miraigan allows you to see into the future. When you first told me that you saw Hiashi show up I checked the clock and then checked again when we saw him show up. There was around a two minute delay between the two times. I think that, depending on the amount of chakra, you can see different distances into the future."

Kai was dumbfounded, only able to let out a confused, "Huh?" before the Hokage started talking again.

"Do you still remember the exact feel of the chakra flow?" the old man asked, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah," Kai said, still looking slightly confused.

"Well, let's assume that that level of chakra represents a two minute delay. If you were to re-activate your bloodline, and then look at a wall clock, we can measure the limits of your ability." Sarutobi explained, smiling.

"Oh…Oh!" Kai exclaimed suddenly, understanding what the Hokage was getting at.

"Future sight huh?" Naruto said suddenly, causing Kai to jump because the boy had forgotten about his friend's presence in the excitement of the moment, "That could be very helpful in battle, if you set it right anyway."

"Yes it could Naruto," the Hokage responded, jumping slightly himself, "but I would imagine that it would become very disorienting if used for too long, or with too big of a delay from actual time."

"Hang on Hokage-sama," Kai said after a few moments of silence, "Let me try your idea. Maybe I can start to measure the power now. If you are right about what it does, then I will need a lot of training before I can use the Miraigan at all." With that said, Kai checked the clock and noted the time before closing his eyes and feeling for the proper chakra pathway and opening the flow again, this time with the lowest possible amount of chakra. However, when Kai opened his eyes he didn't notice any difference.

"Did it work?" Kai asked, "Did my eyes change?"

Sarutobi looked at the boy before shaking his head, "No Kai, you must not have used enough chakra. Try again, but this time keep your eyes open so we can watch and tell you when they change."

For the next hour the three ninja stayed in Kai's hospital room. At first, Naruto and the Hokage watched as Kai increased the chakra flow until his eyes changed, and then they used that level as a baseline to begin experimenting with his future seeing ability. After the hour was complete, Kai had managed to figure out the proper energy levels for time skips up to three minutes, and was beginning to run low on chakra.

Just as Kai was about to re-activate the Miraigan and continue their measuring process, a nurse opened the door. "I'm sorry Hokage-sama," she said politely, "but I need to give Kai his final checkup and then see about discharging him. He really had nothing wrong with him other than a few bruises and chakra depletion, and the only real reason that he has stayed this long is because he was unconscious, and then you arrived, and of course we couldn't kick out the Hokage, at least not right away," she bowed again before stepping aside and gesturing for Sarutobi and Naruto to leave.

The Hokage sighed, "Very well, come along Naruto. Kai, we will be waiting for you in the lobby, once you are cleared, meet us there and we can return to my tower and discuss your training." This last part was said with a wink to Kai, who understood that the Hokage was dead set on keeping his bloodline a secret.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Kai nodded as the other two ninja turned and walked out, Naruto looking almost happy to be able to move again, but still concerned for his friend, the two emotions almost warring on his face. Finally, the door closed behind the two, and the nurse walked forward to begin her examination, performing various medical Jutsu to check his physical condition as well as his chakra levels, which he had to explain. Eventually though, the nurse pronounced Kai to be in good health, and authorized his discharge.

After standing up and re-checking for any items that he had not originally found when he was "blind," Kai made his way out of his room and down the hall to the hospital lobby. Upon reaching the lobby, Kai began looking around, searching for the Hokage or Naruto, and managed to spot a bright orange blob through the tinted windows of the front doors.

Upon stepping out into the evening sunlight, Kai blinked before turning toward his friend. "Oni-san," Kai said, smiling, "where is the Hokage?"

"He got called back to the tower a little early. It seems that he needed to meet with the Jonin sensei before tomorrow's team placement." Naruto responded, smiling just as wide as Kai.

When what Naruto had said registered to Kai, he slumped and laughed in relief before explaining to a now confused Naruto, "When I first woke up, I was worried that I had missed team placements. I guess that with all of the stuff going on, I forgot about it." The boys shared another laugh before a small bird dove out of the sky, heading straight for them, and catching both boys off guard. The bird, which looked similar to the one that the Hokage had summoned earlier, hovered in front of Kai before the boy held out his hand, allowing the bird to land, before disappearing in a poof of smoke, leaving a small, rolled up note in the Genin's hand.

Looking at Naruto questioningly, Kai unrolled the note and read it out loud, "Kai, I am sorry that I had to leave so quickly, but if you would, please come to my office in the tower as soon as you can, we can work out the details that we didn't get to earlier. If Naruto wants to come along, he can, but judging by the way his stomach was growling earlier, I seriously doubt that he will pass up a chance to get some food." Kai grinned when he read this, and listened as Naruto's stomach let out an easily audible growl which made Kai laugh lightly while Naruto blushed.

"Its ok if you want to go eat Oni-san." Kai said, "I can go see the Hokage and then either meet up with you again afterward, or else just see you tomorrow."

Naruto suddenly opened his mouth wide in an unexpected yawn and said, "I think tomorrow would be better Kai. I will just have to stop by Ichiraku on my way home. See you tomorrow Oni-san!" and Naruto ran out of sight, quickly jumping up to the rooftops so he could reach his dinner faster.

Kai just laughed as he started his own way off to the Hokage tower, pausing only for a moment once he got up to the nearest rooftop to get his bearings. After several minutes of leaping from rooftop to rooftop, which provided the physical exertion that Kai's muscles had been craving after spending the entire day in bed, Kai landed in front of the Hokage tower, and walked up to the door, preparing to enter.

Just as he reached to open the door, it burst open, seemingly of its own accord, until Kai saw the people who were exiting and quickly jumped out of their way. Landing a few feet to one side Kai looked back toward the door to see a red sleeved arm holding it open while a woman's head with black hair and red eyes stuck out looking at him, surprise written on her face for just a moment before the rest of her body followed through the door. The woman was dressed in a fairly simple fashion, basically what looked like a red shirt with only one sleeve that was wrapped all over with bandages. The bandages acted like a sort of weird skirt that traveled down to mid-thigh, but still split at the top enough to show a flak vest beneath it.

"Are you ok?" she asked as she came fully into view and looked toward Kai.

"Hai," Kai responded, "I apologize for that, I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"Not at all," a man's voice said, as the speaker emerged from the doorway behind the woman, allowing the door to close behind him, "It was as much our fault as yours." This man was wearing an outfit that reminded Kai of Kakashi. He was wearing a dark blue jumpsuit with a dark green flak jacket over top of it, with the only difference from Kakashi's that Kai could see being that this man had some bandages wrapped around each of his arms, just above the elbows.

"Hey," the woman suddenly said, a look of epiphany on her face, "aren't you that Kai kid?"

"Huh?" Kai asked stupidly before blushing slightly and responding, "Yeah, that's me."

"Well Kai," the man started, "I am Sarutobi Asuma, and this is Yuhi Kurenai. We are two of the Jonin sensei that will be taking teams from your graduating class. You are quite the prodigy from what the Hokage told us. Managing to graduate in only a month is a very impressive feat."

Kai bowed slightly in Asuma's direction, "Thank you Asuma-sensei, I appreciate the compliment…"

"But you have to go and see the Hokage, right?" Kurenai interrupted, smiling, "OK then, don't let us keep you here all day."

"Hai Kurenai-sensei," Kai said and walked toward the doors again as the two Jonin parted to let him through.

"Keep your chin up Kai," Asuma said, "your life will be a tough one, but we all have faith in your ability to succeed, especially with what you have accomplished so far." The way that Asuma had spoken gave Kai the impression that the Hokage had told them both about his battle with Mizuki, and potentially his bloodline, so he turned back for a moment, flashing a small smile, before continuing on into the Hokage tower.

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"I'm sorry to have to keep you here longer Kakashi, but there is more that I need to tell you; information that should be for your ears alone." Sarutobi said as he walked back to his desk. He had just escorted the other Jonin sensei out after their meeting concluded, but had motioned for Kakashi to stay behind; confusing the one-eyed Jonin, but this one statement put Kakashi back on alert, forcing himself to stop day dreaming about his Icha Icha books that were waiting for him at home. If the Hokage had something important to tell him, he needed to pay attention.

"What is it Hokage-sama?" Kakashi questioned in his usual drawl.

"Kai," the Hokage responded, and then waited for Kakashi to react.

Kakashi was slightly surprised by this statement. For one thing, he had thought that he wouldn't have much more to do with Kai since the boy was now a ninja. Kakashi had assumed that the young boy would have been assigned to another Jonin squad, since he really didn't have too many special skills besides Hito's memories to draw on, and that he would never see him. But now, after the Hokage's statement, Kakashi was beginning to re-think his beliefs.

"What about Kai?" Kakashi asked, trying to keep his voice in its normal tone, but failing to keep out a little bit of anxiousness that the Hokage immediately picked up on.

"Well," Sarutobi began, smiling slightly, "as you know, he and Naruto were involved in an altercation with Mizuki last night."

"Yeah," Kakashi nodded, that had been one of the points that the Hokage had brought up during the Jonin meeting. It was amazing enough that Mizuki had been able to enter the tower and steal the scroll, not to mention that he had managed to get as far as the forest outside of the village without being caught, but the fact that he had come across the two boys, who had apparently been running from an angry mob of drunken villagers, and had eventually been defeated by them. It was nothing short of the most popular conversation subject for Konoha's ninja community.

"Well, it seems something happened during that fight," Sarutobi paused, "something happened to Kai."

"Is he alright?" Kakashi asked, just a fragment too quickly, which was once again noted by the Sandaime.

"Oh there is nothing to worry about Kakashi," the old man chuckled, "he is very well indeed, but there is a matter that will need to be brought to the attention of his future sensei." This stopped Kakashi for a moment. During the meeting, he had learned which Genin he would be teaching: Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Uzumaki Naruto, which he pretty much expected seeing as Sasuke was top of his class, Sakura was the brain of the class, and Naruto was only slightly above Kai as far as grades went. He had not expected to have Kai added to his team as well, and this 'matter' that the Hokage was talking about must have been more important than he was letting on.

"OK, so why are you telling me then," Kakashi decided to play dumb, maybe the Hokage would just get to the point that way.Sarutobi sighed, sensing that Kakashi was getting tired of playing games. It was fairly clear to the Hokage that this Jonin really did care for Kai, and probably saw himself as a father figure to the boy.

"Very funny Kakashi," the Sandaime said, "but you know very well that this means that Kai will be on your team with Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura. Now, before you can protest, I will tell you my reasoning behind this sudden appointment. First of all, Kai is still new here. Naruto has been his only really good friend and it would be better for the mental health of both of them if they were on the same team," as Kakashi nodded in agreement, he continued, "Second, you and Kai already know each other, which will further promote his mental health, besides, as I understand it, you have been training them. This way, they can continue their training in the same way under the same teacher."

"This all makes sense Hokage-sama," Kakashi interjected as Sarutobi paused for a moment, "but it does not account for such a drastic change in team line ups. I can tell that there is another reason for your decision, now what is it."

Sarutobi mentally recoiled; Kakashi was showing an unusual amount of interest in this boy, he must really feel responsible for him. After another moment of heated silence, the Hokage began talking again, "Well Kakashi, as things stand, you are the only Jonin sensei for this group that has experience with Dojutsu. As such, I think that it would be a very good idea for you to help Kai with controlling his."

Kakashi was stunned; so that was what had happened, Kai had uncovered a bloodline Dojutsu and needed help with it. Now, since he knew all the details, he understood the Hokage's reasoning. While Kai's Dojutsu couldn't possibly be a Sharingan, it would be better for him to be trained by someone with their own Dojutsu, so at the very least they would have something in common with the boy. If a regular Jonin had taken Kai, they probably wouldn't have been able to make heads or tails of what the boy could need help with. This way, Kakashi could use his own experience to guide Kai on the road to mastering his bloodline.

Just as Kakashi opened his mouth to reply to the Hokage's offer, the door behind him creaked open and Kai stuck his head through, "Hokage-sama," he said, "the secretary said you were expecting me and that I could just come on in."

Sarutobi stood up behind his desk as he said, "Of course Kai, come on in. Kakashi and I were just discussing you."

"Discussing me, sir?" Kai asked, his head tilted to one side.

"Yes, I just finished telling Kakashi about your, Miraigan was it, and we were discussing how he could help you use it, since he has experience with Dojutsu." Sarutobi sat down again once Kai closed the door behind him and walked further into the room.

Looking around hesitantly, Kai said, "How could he help me, he doesn't have a Miraigan too, does he?"

Kakashi smiled a little, "No, but I do have a Sharingan, and the experience I got from using it will help me to help you understand how to use your abilities."

"Oh," Kai said, then suddenly his face brightened, "Then does that mean that you are going to be my Jonin sensei?" When both of the older ninja in the room nodded, Kai had to fight to keep from shouting out loud. Not only had he not missed team placements, but he was going to have the one Jonin that he already knew well for his sensei. Things couldn't get much better at this point, as far as the young Genin was concerned.

"But Kai," the Hokage warned,"I must ask for you to keep this a secret until team placements tomorrow morning. You cannot let anyone know that you know who your teacher is, not even Naruto, got it?"

Kai was too happy to disagree at this point, "Hai, Hokage-sama"

Kakashi, once Kai had seemed to calm down a little, turned fully toward the boy and said, "Now, how about you show me your Dojutsu."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," Kai said happily, and focused for a moment before his eyes changed to the striking white on black form of the Miraigan.

Kakashi simply looked at him for a moment before nodding and saying, "Alright, you can deactivate it now," and watched as Kai went through a similar moment of focus and strain before his eyes returned to their normal green color.

"Alright Kai," Sarutobi said once Kai had relaxed again, "That is all I needed you for. I would imagine that Naruto is getting worried about you by this point, and you may want to go find him."

"Actually Hokage-sama," Kai said, still smiling wider than either of the older Nin had ever seen on anyone, except maybe for Naruto, "Naruto went home to get some sleep, and I will probably do the same."

"Very well," Sarutobi nodded, "just be sure to practice using your Miraigan as much as you can. At this point, at least until we know more about it, that is all you are really able to do with it."

"That's right Kai," Kakashi said, speaking normally again, "if the Miraigan works like I think it does, then the only way you can make it stronger is by gaining more chakra control, and practicing with a Dojutsu is an excellent way to do that, but lay off the _Kage Bunshin_ training unless there is someone else with you to watch for any problems."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," Kai said again before turning to leave, "and thank you both, for everything."

Once the door closed behind Kai, Kakashi turned back to the Hokage and said, "So what exactly does this 'Miraigan' do?"

Sarutobi stood up again before walking over to his window and looking out over Konoha, "As far as we have been able to tell, it allows Kai to see into the future a varying amount of time, depending on the amount of chakra he uses. This can prove to be fairly useful in some situations, especially if he can train his reflexes so that he can delay his reactions to what he sees. From what I can tell, if someone changes their mind about what they want to do, then what Kai sees changes too. This is coming from Naruto's account of the fight with Mizuki, when we think his bloodline first activated. Naruto said that Kai moved like he was dodging blows that hadn't been thrown yet. What I think happened is that Mizuki saw Kai moving, and changed his attack plans, which made Kai shift again since he didn't know that he was seeing the future. Time is always shifting, and there can be no better example of this than Kai."

"How do you suggest I go about training him," Kakashi asked, "his bloodline is not as straightforward as the Sharingan is, and I will have a hard enough time training Sasuke once he gains his Sharingan."

The Sandaime thought for a moment before answering, "I suggest you just have him continue doing what he is doing already: chakra control exercises, with his bloodline whenever possible. This way, he will be able to manipulate it at will, and may even be able to use it to predict his opponent's moves, or at least as some kind of spying method. It would be very useful if he could learn to read lips…" the old Hokage trailed off before snapping back to attention, realizing that Kakashi was still in the room, and waved at the Jonin, dismissing him.

Kakashi, however, wasn't finished just yet, "Hokage-sama, what about the council? What do they have to say about all this?"

Sarutobi froze before turning back to the Jonin, "That is the tricky part you see. They don't know about his bloodline yet, and, if it happens the way I planned, they won't find out until much later. I am afraid that they will try to take him out of active duty to try and breed more ninja with his bloodline. That would just crush him."

That was all Kakashi had to hear, "I understand Hokage-sama," Kakashi bowed, "I will do my best to keep this a secret from the council, but it will be fairly hard to keep it from his team."

"His team needs to know so they can use it to their greatest advantage, just don't let on that it is supposed to be a well kept secret, and you shouldn't have much trouble with the youngsters." Sarutobi chuckled as he finished this, finding the image of the Genin running to the council to report every little detail about their teammates, it was laughable. The only one who even had family or parents to tell was Sakura, and the Haruno family was not in a high enough position of power for them to be a problem. Besides, ninja duties would keep them all too busy for gossip.

Kakashi nodded and bid the old Hokage goodbye before disappearing in a swirl of leaves, leaving Sarutobi alone in his office, with only his thoughts to keep him company.

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AN: Another chapter of boring filler stuff. I know it stinks, but it had to be done. I had to find some way to explain the Miraigan to everyone, and this was the easiest way I could think of. Sorry. Anyway, now for the Jutsu list:

None! This chapter was so boring, there weren't any jutsu in it at all!

I really truly apologize for that.

For those who didn't catch the note in the last chapter, a Dojutsu is literally an "Eye Technique" like the Sharingan and Byakugan. The Miraigan is literally translated into "Future Eye" and was the best sounding thing I could find that sort of names what it is able to do. Personally, I like the name; if you don't, so what, it's not your fic. I will get into some mild action next chapter, but I don't know how much. At least you can be assured that it will be more interesting than this one. : )


	6. Chapter 6

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Chapter 6

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Disclaimer: I don't own anything in this fic other than Hito, Kai, and the Miraigan.

AN: Here is Chapter 6… yeah that's it.

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Kai woke up, this time in his own room, and took a moment to let his mind catch up with the rest of him before extracting himself from his covers. Kai rolled to the side of his bed and sluggishly swung his legs over the edge. He had spent several hours after he got home practicing using his Miraigan. He had taken the advice from Kakashi and the Hokage very seriously, but now he was thinking that he might have taken it too seriously. The unfortunate Genin was suffering from an extreme case of fatigue that he felt must have been caused by using up all his chakra the night before.

Slowly, Kai rose from his seat and stumbled into his kitchen before setting some water to boil and heading back through his bedroom and into the bathroom. By the time he had performed his morning routine and splashed enough water on his face to wake himself up enough to function, the water was more than hot enough and was quickly mixed with some instant ramen that Kai extracted from his cabinet.

Then, almost as if on cue, Kai heard a knock coming from his front door before it was opened and the sound of approaching footsteps sounded through the house. Just to check, Kai used his Miraigan and checked a few seconds ahead to see Naruto rounding the corner into the kitchen before calling out, "Hey Oni-san, I'm in the kitchen, and I've got ramen."

"Alright Kai," Naruto shouted back just before he popped around the corner and made a line for the nearest chair, "I'm starving."

"Well your just in time," Kai responded with a slight laugh as he removed the noodles from the stove and dished it out into two bowls, one getting substantially more than the other, and brought them over to the table before placing the larger in front of Naruto and then taking his seat.

As they dug in to their ramen, Naruto looked up and said, "So, what did the Hokage have to say last night?"

Kai waited a moment, taking a few more bites of ramen before responding, "Well, he told me that I would need to practice using my Miraigan so that I could use it reliably. He also told me that my Jonin sensei would be able to help me with learning to control it." Kai then paused before he said, "And he also told me who was on my team."

Naruto actually paused in his systematic destruction of his ramen to say, "Really? Who? You've got to tell me!"

"I don't know Oni-san," Kai said, and took a few more slow bites before saying, "the Hokage said I couldn't tell anyone."

"Oh come one Oni-san!" Naruto practically shouted, "You've got to tell me!" The orange clad Genin was sitting across from his friend, wide eyed, with a piece of ramen dangling from his mouth. All in all, it was a hilarious picture that nearly had tears streaming from Kai's eyes as he fought back the urge to laugh.

"I'm really sorry Oni-san," Kai said once he had had enough of Naruto's face, "But I can't tell you who my sensei is, I was forbidden to do so, and I take my orders very seriously."

Naruto sighed and said, "Oh well, at least I won't have to wait very long to find out on my own."

"Yeah," Kai said before returning his attention to his rapidly cooling food. It wasn't until he was making his way to the sink to place his now empty bowl there when he remembered something from yesterday. "Naruto," he said after putting his bowl down and returning to the table where his friend was polishing off the last of his food, "Yesterday when you came into my hospital room, you seemed a little upset, what happened?"

Naruto grimaced before he sat back from his now empty bowl and said,"Well, I sort of spent the day trying to talk to Sakura."

"I take it that it didn't go well?" Kai ventured.

"Actually it was going fairly well for a while. I started off the day normally and then went and tracked down Sasuke," Naruto said with a sneer before continuing, "I managed to ambush the idiot and then I _henged_ into him before going to talk to Sakura-chan."

Kai sighed silently when Naruto finished talking. Naruto was head over heals for Sakura, but she was so heavily stuck on Sasuke that there was very little chance that he would ever even register on her radar, much less get her to like him. Hinata, however, now that was another story. Everyone who saw her knew that she had a huge crush on Naruto, possibly bigger than the one that Naruto had on Sakura, but the Orange clad boy seemed to be completely oblivious to it. The only thing missing was for Sasuke to have a hidden crush on Hinata, yeah right.

"Why exactly did you _henge_ into Sasuke?" Kai asked.

"Well," Naruto answered, scratching the back of his head, "I figured that if Sakura-chan wouldn't talk to me as me, then she might talk to me as Sasuke. It made a lot of sense to me, and it actually worked. I asked Sakura-chan what she thought of me, as Naruto I mean."

"And…" Kai prompted as Naruto paused.

"She said that I was annoying, and before I could ask her anything else, my stomach started hurting." Naruto responded, his face falling.

"Huh?" Kai said, his face puzzled, "what do you mean?"

"I really don't know how it happened," Naruto said, "but my stomach was hurting for most of the day yesterday and I had to keep running to the bathroom. By the time it stopped hurting, I decided to go check on you, and you know the rest. It was one of the worst days, or at least mornings, of my life, but at least she thought it was Sasuke running off like that, and not me." Naruto suddenly got a dreamy look on his face, "Wouldn't it be great it Sakura-chan was on the same Genin team as me? Yeah, that would be awesome…"

Kai decided to intervene before Naruto sank too far into his daydream, "We need to get to the academy Oni-san. Otherwise we will be late for our team placements."

This brought Naruto out of his daydream very quickly, causing him to jump up and grab Kai's arm saying, "Your right, lets go," before literally dragging Kai out of his apartment and onto a nearby street, heading toward the academy.

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After a few blocks, Kai managed to free himself from Naruto's strong grip and get to his feet. After that, the managed to make very good time as they took to the rooftops and arrived at the academy with just enough time to get into their classroom before being counted as late.

"Well boys," Iruka said as they rushed into the room, slightly out of breath, "it's good of you to join us." The boys apologized quietly before making their way through the nearly full classroom to their seats at the back.

Once they were seated, Iruka turned to the entire class again, "Alright everyone," he said, "now that everyone has joined us, we can begin. The first thing I would like to say is that I am very proud of you all. You have all shown that you have what it takes to make excellent Leaf Ninja, and I know that you will make all of your teachers proud. The life that you are about to enter into is full of danger, and some of you may one day lose your lives in the line of duty, but I have faith in the skills all of you possess." As Iruka finished his speech, Kai felt himself swell with happiness. Iruka was proud of them all, but he had looked directly at Kai and Naruto during the last part of his speech. Iruka knew what they had gone through graduation night, and he was proud of how they handled themselves and the situation they were placed in.

"Now I will begin reading off team placements, you need to pay attention to now only your own name, but also the names of who is on your team, because you will be working with them for some time to come. It is very important that you try your hardest not only to improve yourselves, but also to help your teammates; only in this way will you be able to truly succeed. Now, Squad 1…" At this point, Kai basically zoned out, waiting until he heard a name he recognized, then, "…Squad 7, led by Hatake Kakashi," Kai jumped slightly, getting Naruto's attention, "Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura," Naruto jumped into the air, cheering, while Kai began smiling inwardly, "and Uchiha Sasuke." Kai's face fell while Naruto slumped in his seat, grumbling, and Sakura repeated Naruto's standing cheer at hearing who her third teammate was. What was going on? Wasn't he supposed to be on Kakashi-sensei's squad? Had there been a last second change?

Iruka, oblivious to Kai's reaction, continued, "Squad 8, led by Yuhi Kurenai, Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. Squad 9 is still in circulation, so Squad 10, led by Sarutobi Asuma, will be Yamanaka Ino, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru. Squad 11…" by this time, Kai had zoned out completely again, lost in his overactive imagination while he continued thinking up more and more crazy reasons for this development. Maybe someone had decided that he wasn't ready to be a ninja since he had only been in these classes for a month. Maybe someone told the council about his bloodline and they were waiting for him outside right now, waiting to take him off to meet his new wife, or wives.

Just as Kai's despair met it peak, Iruka finished naming off the teams, "Now that everyone has been assigned…"

"Iruka-sensei" a female voice interrupted, catching Kai's attention and bringing him out of his reverie once again, "you didn't assign Kai." Kai looked around frantically, and finally spotted the blonde form of Ino relaxing back into her seat. Kai suddenly found himself wishing that his Miraigan allowed him to see into the past so that he could tell if Ino had leaned forward when Iruka had been interrupted, as it was, he could only guess. She may have simply been leaning back as she stopped paying so much attention to their teacher. But Kai couldn't bring himself to think about it too long, because Iruka was recovering from the sudden interruption.

Iruka smiled and said, "Well, the Hokage told me that Kai already knew what team he was on. I was under the impression that I didn't need to tell him."

Kai suddenly felt happiness bubble up in him, not only was there absolutely nothing to worry about, but he was on a team with Naruto! Suddenly, Kai began smiling widely, before chuckling softly while scratching the back of his head, a habit he had gotten from Naruto, as he said, "That is true Iruka-sensei, but I didn't know that you weren't going to say it in front of the class. You had me worried." Suddenly, Kai noticed everyone's eyes on him, and blushed before sitting back in his seat and slumping down, trying to will everyone to stop looking at him.

Iruka chuckled himself at Kai's show of shyness. If there was anything that he had noticed about the young ninja, it was that he was very shy. He never really liked to talk in class, or to draw attention to himself in any other way, or at least not in front of a large group of people that he didn't know very well. "Alright everyone," Iruka said, seeing the gratitude radiating from Kai's eyes as everyone's attention was brought back to the teacher, "as I was saying, since everyone has been assigned, all there is left to do is for you to all wait for your new sensei to come and get you. Once they pick you up, you will all be under their command. Your squad leaders are going to be your new teachers and your leaders. You will need to obey their commands as soon as they are given. Any hesitation on your part could one day lead to mission failure or even the death of you and your teammates. But, with any luck, you will all be smart enough to keep that from happening, good luck everyone, I have faith in you."

With that, Iruka turned and walked out of the classroom, leaving the room in complete silence. Or at least it was for a few seconds. Shortly after the door shut, half of the classroom turned their attention to the only thing on hand to keep them distracted and entertained until their sensei arrived, Kai, and how he knew who his sensei was before today.

Naruto was the first to react, "So Kai, can you tell me who your teacher is now?"

But before Kai could answer he found himself surrounded by a group of people all trying to press closer in order to better hear his answer. Kai simply slumped slightly as he said, "Uh, I don't know Naruto. I'm still not sure if I can say anything yet."

"Oh come on Kai," the lazy Shikamaru said from his seat near the outside of the crowd, close enough to hear, even if he couldn't see, "team placements have already been made, and I know that you know that you can tell everyone who your sensei is without having to worry about any consequences that the Hokage may have imposed on you." Shikamaru had risen and begun making his way through the crowd as he talked, but when he saw Kai, and the look on his face, his eyes widened very slightly before he said, "but then, if you don't want to say it, I could always tell everyone."

This had exactly the effect that the genius had been shooting for, as everyone's attention shifted away from the nervous Kai and onto him. Questions immediately began shooting from the crowd as people asked him how he could answer the question that Kai refused to. "Simple," Shikamaru drawled once the babble had quieted, "I went into the Hokage's office yesterday with my father for a meeting and I managed to see the list on his desk."

The babble immediately rose again, giving Kai a chance to recover from his embarrassment. Kai turned to catch Shikamaru's eye, who nodded at Kai's unspoken thanks before saying, "Kai is on Squad 7 with Hatake Kakashi."

The babble quieted as everyone tried to remember who was on that squad before the class jumped as one when Naruto suddenly began shouting, "Alright! Kai is on my team!"

"Shut up, dobe," Sasuke said from across the room, causing Naruto to instantly stop jumping before turning and glaring at the broody Uchiha, "there is nothing special about that baka. He will just slow me down even more."

"Yeah right Sasuke," Naruto sneered, glaring at Sasuke from across the room, "Kai kicked your butt once already, and he could do it again."

"Not likely, dobe," Sasuke smirked as he stood up and slowly walked over toward the gathering where Naruto stood, "the only reason that that moron beat me during that sparring match was because we weren't allowed to use anything but Taijutsu. If I had been allowed to go all out, Kai wouldn't have stood a chance."

"Is that so?" Kai stood, feeling that he had to defend his honor, "somehow, Sasuke, I really don't think so. I don't even think you could defeat me even if you could use your other skills, unless I was asleep."

"And that is the only way you could beat me," Sasuke shot back with a smirk, "in your dreams."

Kai's glare intensified as Sasuke stood, seemingly uncaring, and looked over to Kai from the corner of his eyes. Kai was just preparing to charge Sasuke when the door suddenly opened. "Well now, what's going on here?" asked Asuma as he walked through the door and assessed the scene in front of him.

"Nothing Asuma-sensei," Kai said, as he slowly sat down again, still glaring at Sasuke, "nothing at all."

Asuma's eyes narrowed, but he nodded before brightening up again and saying, "Alright Squad 10, I'm Sarutobi Asuma, and I am your Jonin sensei."

Kurenai then stuck her head into the room and said, "Squad 8, I am Yuhi Kurenai and I will be your sensei. If our squads will come with us, we can get started." With that, Hinata, Kiba, Shino, Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji all got up from their seats and made their way down to the front of the room before following their new senseis into the hallway.

With the tension broken, or at least subdued, Kai and Sasuke both settled into their seats, occasionally casting glares at each other, and waited for Kakashi's arrival. Over the course of the next ten minutes, all the new Genin were taken from the room by their new sensei, all that is, except for Squad 7. This was not entirely unexpected for two of the Genin. Because Naruto and Kai had both trained under Kakashi before, they knew about his habits, but Sasuke and Sakura were not so fortunate.

"Ahhhh!" Sakura shouted in frustration when their wait had extended to and hour, "He's late, where is he?"

Naruto simply leaned his chair back onto its back legs, propping his feet up on the table in front of him, and said, "Relax Sakura-chan, Kakashi-sensei is always late, to everything."

"Yeah," Kai continued, "he would probably be late to his own funeral if there was some way he could arrange it. The only thing you have to watch out for is his terrible excuses."

"You both talk like you know him personally," Sakura said, a questioning look on her face.

"Well how else do you think I was able to graduate so quickly?" Kai said, "I may be a decent ninja now, but when I first arrived here I had no memory of anything. All I had were basic skills that seemed to come to me naturally, so I was able to get around like a ninja and perform most basic Taijutsu, almost as if I had been training all my life, but I couldn't remember anything. The Hokage assigned Kakashi-sensei to me to help tutor me so that I would be able to graduate quickly. Since Naruto was already helping me, he was included in the exercises as well, so we were both trained by Kakashi-sensei.

"Whoa," Sakura said when Kai finished, as Sasuke looked up from his seat, trying valiantly not to show any interest even though he wanted to hear what was being said, "so that means that you two know more about Kakashi than we do, right?"

"Yep," Naruto responded, "and if there is one thing that we learned during our time training with him, it's that he is ALWAYS late, to everything, no matter how important it may be."

"How late are we talking exactly?" Sakura questioned, her eyebrow lifting slightly.

"Normally, he is at least one hour late, but there is really no telling how long he will be," Kai said while Sakura stared at him in astonishment, "all we can really do is find something to keep ourselves busy."

"I see," Sakura said slowly, deep in thought, "alright then." She then quickly dashed over to Sasuke and immediately began asking him if he would go on a date with her.

Naruto immediately began glaring over at Sasuke while Kai just sighed and continued practicing his Miraigan. Over the course of the next few hours, Sakura tried to get Sasuke to date her, while Sasuke merely ignored her, occasionally casting glares over to Kai and Naruto. On the other side of the room, Naruto passed his time in a similar way to Sasuke, sending him an occasional glare while he silently grumbled about Sakura not paying him any attention, while Kai simply tried to keep his focus on trying to control his Miraigan without letting Sasuke and Sakura see.

He had decided fairly quickly that he did not want either of his other two teammates to know about his bloodline until Kakashi and the Hokage deemed it to be necessary. In the meantime, he would just have to be careful. By the end of the second hour, Kai noticed a serious drain in his chakra, and decided to spend some more time assimilating more of Hito's memories.

Kai had not been able to spend much time doing this in a while. With the Genin exams followed immediately by his fight with Mizuki and subsequent hospitalization and the discovery of his Kekkei Genkai, he had been too busy to sort through the "stolen" memories. Now that he was presented with his Genin career though, he felt that he would need all the help he could get, and the "free" Jutsu information that he could glean from these memories would certainly count as useful help. So, for the rest of the time he had, Kai sorted through Hito's memories, some of which he placed into his mental "filing cabinet" for Jutsu and other ninja skills that he could use, or would eventually be able to learn to use, and others were placed into a "file" for Hito's old memories that could be used later, but were not greatly important.

Then, just as Kai came out of his trance to take a break, he looked up just in time to see the door as it opened just enough to admit the head of their Jonin sensei, "Hello Squad 7, I am Hatake Kakashi and…"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura shouted, suddenly interrupting him as she stood from her place next to Sasuke, a vein protruding from her forehead.

"Ah well," Kakashi said, scratching the back of his head, "you see, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around."

Kai and Naruto sweatdropped as Sakura and Sasuke simply stared in disbelief at the feeble excuse offered by their new sensei. Kakashi merely cleared his throat and said, "Well, my first impression of you all, I hate you," Kai saw Kakashi give him a wink as he spoke before continuing, "alright everyone, meet me on the roof," and vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Kai and Naruto were the first to react, both of them getting up and heading out the door to go up to the roof, while Sakura and Sasuke only followed them after seeing they were about to be left behind. Once the four Genin reached the roof, they found Kakashi reading his Icha Icha novel and giggling softly, seemingly oblivious to their presence. Kai and Naruto simply walked over to a small ledge in front of him and sat down again, while Sakura and Sasuke stared at the once-eyed Jonin before moving to follow.

After a while, Kakashi looked over the top of his book before closing it and stowing it in his weapon pouch on his hip, "Alright you four, why don't you introduce yourselves, one at a time."

Sakura screwed up her face as she asked, "Introduce ourselves?"

"You know," Kakashi continued, his single revealed eye half closed as he drawled on, "Things you like, things you hate, dreams for the future, hobbies, things like that."

Still looking confused, Sakura said, "Why don't you go first? Just to show us exactly how we are supposed to do it."

Kai was of the opinion that Kakashi's instructions had been fairly clear, and the Jonin seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but he still said, "Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi. Things I like and things I hate, I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future, well, I never really thought about it. As for my hobbies, I have lots of hobbies."

Sakura simply stared at him as she mumbled, "Well that was useless; all we really learned was his name." Sasuke simply stared into space not really seeming to care while Naruto and Kai were forced to hide their smiles from their teammates when they heard Kakashi's answer. He had been like this with them for a few weeks when he started training them, but eventually he came around, it was only a matter of waiting.

Kakashi didn't seem to notice Sakura's annoyance as he continued, "Alright you first Naruto."

Naruto cleared his throat quietly before saying, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto. I like instant cup ramen, especially the ramen that I can get at Ichiraku ramen, but I hate having to wait for my ramen to be ready to eat. My hobbies are training with Oni-san and eating and comparing different types of ramen. My future dream is to be the greatest Hokage ever; then the whole village will stop disrespecting me and start treating me like I am someone important."

Kakashi nodded, since he already knew about Naruto, and said, "Alright, you next pinky."

Sakura sat up straight and clenched her fists in front of her face as she said, "I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like…uh…I mean the person that I like is," she glanced over at Sasuke, "…uh…my hobby is…" another glance,"…uh…my dream for the future is…" she gave on final look at Sasuke before collapsing in a fit of squeals and giggles.

Kakashi just sighed before suggesting, "And what do you hate?"

Sakura instantly sobered up and practically shouted, "NARUTO!" causing the orange clad Genin to sweatdrop and fall backwards.

Kakashi just sighed and mumbled, "At her age, girls are more interested in boys than ninja training, this could be trouble," before saying, "Alright, you next Uchiha."

Sasuke just sat with his hands on his knees in front of his face, his look merely darkened as he began talking, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things, and I don't particularly like anything," Sakura drooped slightly at this, "What I have is not a dream, because I will make it a reality. I am going to restore my clan, and destroy a certain someone."

While Kai, Sakura, and Naruto simply stared, astounded by the emotion that the boy had shown during his speech, Kakashi began mumbling again, "Just as I thought, he sees himself as an avenger," before saying out loud, "Alright Kai, Naruto and I know you, but your other teammates don't, so why don't you finish up."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, "I am Wareta Kai. I enjoy training with Oni-san and eating chicken of nearly any kind, but I don't like people who judge others before getting to know them. When I first came to this village, I had no memory of my past, but needed to learn how to control my chakra, or else I could end up hurting others. So Kakashi-sensei and Naruto Oni-san helped me get to where I am today."

"Good," Kakashi nodded,"You are each unique and have your own ideas. We will have our first mission tomorrow."

Naruto took this moment to insert his own question, "What kind of mission are we going to have Kakashi-sensei?"

"It is a task that we will perform together," Kakashi answered, his eye showing that he was smiling behind his mask, "a survival exercise."

Immediately, Naruto and Sakura started complaining, "But that is what we did at the academy!" "Shouldn't we be getting real missions now?"

Kakashi's smile only widened, "This is not like your previous training."

"What kind of training is it then?" Naruto demanded, seemingly getting irritated.

Kakashi finally broke down and laughed a little which prompted Sakura to speak again, "What's so funny Kakashi-sensei?"

"Well," Kakashi said once he recovered, "if I tell you the answer, you're not going to like it. Of the twenty-eight graduates that have come this far, only a fraction will be accepted as true Genin, the rest will be sent back to the academy," Kai nearly stopped breathing, "In other words, this is a make it or break it, pass or fail test, and the chance that you will fail is at least sixty-six percent." Kai felt himself begin to get upset, if he didn't pass this test, he would have to go back to the academy, and that would mean that he wouldn't get the protection he needed as a Chunin any time soon, which would just give the council that much more time to find out about his Miraigan.

"See," Kakashi said at the astonished looks on all their faces,"didn't I tell you that you wouldn't like it?"

Naruto suddenly jumped up, "That's crazy! We worked hard to get here. If we aren't even real Genin yet, then what was that graduation test for?"

Kakashi simply looked at the enraged Genin and responded, "That was just to select Genin_ candidates_. That's how it is, I decide whether you pass or fail. Be at the Memorial Stone outside of town at 5:00 am, and bring your ninja gear." With that Kakashi turned away from them, facing off the roof of the building, before pausing and saying, "Oh, and be sure to skip breakfast tomorrow, or else you will probably throw up," and he leapt up into the air, only to disappear in a swirl of leaves.

Kai and Naruto turned toward each other, confusion and frustration written on both faces, before turning and bidding their teammates farewell. All four of the Genin were worried, although some showed it more than others. None of them were very excited about the news that they had been given just moments before, nor were they happy about the fact that their Genin careers could end before they began. It all depended on what they did the next day.

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The next morning, Kai woke up, and went into his kitchen, before remembering Kakashi's warning, and simply dressing before walking out the door and making his way toward the Memorial Stone. The Memorial Stone had always been an important part of Konoha's history. Upon the stone, the names of ninja who died in the act of duty were carved. It served as a reminder to everyone what the ninja of the village had always done to serve their home, and there were always flowers and other tokens of thanks lying around it, left by grateful citizens.

When Kai approached the stone, he found Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were already there and were awaiting the arrival of their sensei. They were forced to wait for several hours until Kakashi finally showed up at 7:00, immediately drawing a shriek of, "You're late!" from Sakura.

"Sorry," Kakashi said, scratching his head, "I got lost on the road of life and…"

"LIAR!" Sakura screamed, her face turning red.

Kakashi quickly grew serious as Sakura began calming down and said, "Alright Squad 7, today we are going to perform your survival exercise. In this exercise you must simply retrieve one of these bells from me," he pulled three bells out of his belt pouch as he said this, "whoever gets a bell, passes the test."

"But Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, noticing a problem, "there are only three bells and four of us."

"Exactly Naruto," Kakashi said as his one showing eye curved as he smiled, "that way, at least one of you will go back to the academy. Not only that, but if you don't get a bell, you get tied to a post, and have to watch as the ones who did get a bell eat theirs with me." The four Genin groaned as their stomachs all growled almost simultaneously, all of them finally realizing why they had been told not to eat.

Kakashi walked over to a stump and pulled out a timer which he set before turning back to his team and saying, "You have until noon to get the bells from me; anyone without a bell at that time will face the consequences. You must come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise, you cannot succeed. Now BEGIN!" Upon his shout, Kakashi jumped back as three of the four Genin disappeared, jumping away to find places to hide and observe. The one remaining Genin was none other than Naruto who simply stood there staring at Kakashi.

What followed can only be described in one word: embarrassing. Naruto quickly struck a pose and shouted various things at Kakashi that Kai was unable to hear from his tree across the clearing, but clearly saw when Naruto moved to attack Kakashi, and how their sensei easily ducked the first kick and disappeared when the second attack came, only to re-appear behind Naruto forming a hand sign. The next part, Kai heard clearly, but only because Kakashi shouted it out, "_Konoha Hidan Taijutsu Ougi: Senin Goroshi_!" What followed was Kakashi sending Naruto skyward with a "well placed" poke to his hind end.

Naruto, needless to say, flew through the air, holding his offended hindquarters, and landed with a huge splash in a small river running alongside the clearing. Kai winced, aching with sympathy, and was about to move over to the river to see if Naruto was ok, only to see several copies of him jump out of the river and charge Kakashi. After a very short exchange, in which Naruto somehow ended up punching himself, all the Naruto clones attacked each other, which only left one Naruto, who, for some reason, decided to walk over to a tree before being hoisted up into the air, dangling by his ankle from a rope trap.

Kai was too busy watching Naruto hanging there to see what happened to Kakashi, but suddenly, he heard Sakura scream in the woods off to his left, quickly followed by a surprised shout from Sasuke from the other direction, accompanied by a rumble.

Just as Kai was trying to decide who he should check on first, he suddenly found his view blocked by a Jonin flak jacket. Stepping back slightly, Kai saw that Kakashi was looking at him with disappointment in his one eye as he sighed and said, "Well Kai, It looks like you all failed, and I had such high hopes for you all. I had really hoped that you would all work together to defeat me, but you didn't even work with Naruto. Oh well, its back to the academy for you." Before Kai could react, Kakashi disappeared, and the Genin suddenly felt a blow land on the back of his head, knocking him out.

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AN: And here is my first cliffhanger. Yay!!!...Why isn't anyone else cheering…? Oh well, I promise that all will be explained in the next chapter, so please no angry messages until you read the next one.

Jutsu List:

_Henge: _Transform

_Konoha Hidan Taijutsu Ougi: Senin Goroshi: _Konoha Secret Taijutsu Master Art: Thousand Years of Pain!

And that's it for now, please remember to review.


	7. Chapter 7

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Chapter 7

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

AN: And here is the conclusion to my first cliffhanger…

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Kai sat straight up in his bed, drenched in a cold sweat. That had been quite the dream, but it had just been a dream, right? It all had felt so real, but the survival test hadn't even happened yet, right? He wouldn't have to go back to the academy would he? Glancing at his clock, Kai saw that it was four in the morning, and decided to go about his day as if he still had to take the survival test, but doubt and worry still plagued him.

With these thoughts bouncing around his head, Kai went about his morning business. After his time in the bathroom, Kai made his way into the kitchen and pulled out some instant ramen, before suddenly remembering Kakashi's warning. Kai paused, should he eat anyway? Kai's musing was interrupted as someone knocked on his door.

"Come on in Oni-san," Kai called, knowing who it had to be since no one else ever visited him, "I'm in the kitchen." Kai heard the door open and close again as he still fought his internal battle: to eat or not.

"What are you doing Oni-san" Naruto asked, finding Kai in his kitchen with an un-prepared instant ramen cup in his hand.

"Trying to decide whether to eat or not." Kai responded absently.

"Well you probably shouldn't you know," Naruto said, almost regretfully, "Kakashi-sensei told us not to or else we would throw up."

"I know but…" Kai paused as Naruto's last statement ran through his head, "you mean we haven't taken the survival test yet?"

Naruto looked at Kai with concern written on his face, "No, of course we haven't. Why would you think that we did?"

Kai forehead creased as he began thinking, "I must have had a dream last night, but it felt so real. We all showed up at the memorial stone to take the test, but as usual Kakashi-sensei didn't show up for another two hours. When he finally did, he said that we would all have to try to get a bell from him, but there were only three, and he said that anyone who didn't get one would have to watch the ones who did eat their lunches, and after that, the ones who failed would be sent back to the academy! In the end, we all got taken out. It was so real, and then at the end, Kakashi said that he had thought that we would have worked together better, and I was just so sure that it had been real." Kai sat the ramen cup down on the counter before walking over to a chair and flopping down.

"Wow," was all Naruto was able to say before his face suddenly brightened, "Kai! What if your dream was really a vision of the future?"

Kai looked up at him, "Huh?"

"Just bear with me for a second," Naruto said, "we know that your Miraigan lets you see only short distances into the future when you are consciously feeding chakra into it, right?"

Kai nodded, "Yeah."

Naruto nodded as he continued, "What if it also allows you to have visions of the future where you actually experience them. What if the dream you had about the survival test is actually how it will happen if everything stays the same as it is now? It might be possible that the test won't turn out the same as your dream when we actually take it because we did something different!"

Kai just looked at him quizzically, "Naruto I see what you're getting at, but it was just a dream. Just because I dreamt something doesn't mean that that is how it was going to happen. Just because things turn out differently from my dream doesn't mean that everything was changed; it just means that I only had a dream."

Naruto, however, was not easily swayed, "Just bear with me Kai, and whip up some ramen for us, I'm starved."

Kai frowned, "but Kakashi-sensei sai-"

Naruto interrupted him, "Come on Kai, just do this one thing, I have a good feeling about this. I'm right; I'm sure of it." Kai just shook his head and stood before walking over to the counter again and getting out another cup of instant ramen as Naruto sat in his chair, deep in thought.

The next few minutes were spent eating their breakfast, although Kai did so rather reluctantly, still wary about disobeying Kakashi's orders based only on a dream. Once they finished, the two friends set out from Kai's apartment and made their way to the memorial stone to meet with the rest of their team.

Kai, for his part, was still worried about disobeying Kakashi's orders, but Naruto was easily optimistic enough for both of them, and managed to hold a very happy one-sided conversation during their walk, a huge grin plastered on his face the whole time. When they arrived, they found Sasuke standing off to one side of the stone, looking broody as usual, while Sakura stood a short distance away from him, openly oogling at the object of her affection.

Settling down a short distance away from their teammates, Naruto and Kai spent their time waiting for Kakashi to arrive with simple conversation. Then, at 7:00 exactly, Kakashi strolled into the clearing, reading his book and giggling softly.

Upon his arrival, Sakura immediately spun around and pointed at him shouting, "YOU'RE LATE!"

"Sorry," Kakashi said, scratching his head, "I got lost on the road of life and…"

Naruto sweatdropped while Kai paled as Sakura shrieked, "LIAR!" With the single exception of he and Naruto arriving at the same time, this morning had been exactly the same as Kai's dream.

Kakashi quickly grew serious as Sakura began calming down and said, "Alright Squad 7, today we are going to perform your survival exercise. In this exercise you must simply retrieve one of these bells from me," he pulled three bells out of his belt pouch as he said this, "whoever gets a bell, passes the test." Kai's eyes grew wider as Naruto, seeing this, smiled, knowing that his guess was right, Kai had seen the future in his dream.

"But Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said smiling still, "there are only three bells and four of us."

"Exactly Naruto," Kakashi said his eyebrow raising at Naruto's smile, "that way, at least one of you will go back to the academy. Not only that, but if you don't get a bell, you get tied to a post, and have to watch as the ones who did get a bell eat their lunch in front of you." Sakura groaned slightly while Sasuke grimaced and Kai paled even more, this was really getting creepy, and Naruto's ever widening grin was not helping matters.

Kakashi walked over to a stump and pulled out a timer which he set before turning back to his team and saying, "You have until noon to get the bells from me; anyone without a bell at that time will face the consequences. You must come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise, you cannot succeed. Now BEGIN!" Upon his shout, Kakashi jumped back as Kai grabbed Naruto and pulled him away into the trees while Sasuke and Sakura jumped away on their own.

"What's up Oni-san?" Naruto said, "I was going to take on Kakashi-sensei!"

"Exactly Naruto," Kai sighed, "I think you were right about my dream. But in that dream, you went after Kakashi-sensei and got your butt handed to you. I just stopped you from making my dream become a reality."

"Oh," Naruto said, before brightening and saying, "Ok then, what else happened?"

Kai closed his eyes as he began thinking, "Basically, you got beaten, then Kakashi-sensei got Sakura and then Sasuke before he came after me. He said that he had hoped we would have worked together more…That's it!"

Naruto had been absorbing what Kai was saying, and was caught off guard by his sudden exclamation, "Huh? What's it?"

"That is the secret to passing this test," Kai whispered urgently, trying not to speak too loud and attract Kakashi's attention, "we have to work together, all of us if possible, otherwise, we won't be able to succeed."

Naruto groaned, "Alright Kai, I don't like it, but we might be able to get them to work with us, but we can't tell them about your Miraigan, at least not yet."

"Agreed," Kai said, "I think we should try to find Sasuke and convince him first. If we can get him on our side, then Sakura will follow along without a fight." Naruto nodded in agreement as Kai looked around, trying to remember where Sasuke had been in his dream, before setting off through the trees around the clearing, with Naruto close behind.

Always keeping an eye on Kakashi, Kai silently made his way from tree to tree, heading to where he thought Sasuke might be hiding. When he finally found the boy he nearly ran into him, only recovering at the last second to avoid a terrible crash that would have quickly attracted Kakashi's attention.

"What do you two dobes want?" Sasuke whispered harshly once he recovered.

"Look Sasuke," Kai said, "lets not make this into a confrontation. We came over here because we need to work together or…"

"I don't need your help to pass this stupid test," Sasuke snarled back, his face contorting as his rage suddenly built over his restraint, "I can get my own bell, and then one of you will be sent back to the academy, and I this 'team' will be better for it!"

"Don't you get it you baka?" Naruto said, just barely quiet enough to avoid detection, "there is no way that any one of us can defeat a Jonin on our own. None of us are good enough yet, we are barely even out of the academy, and there is no way that you can honestly believe that you are capable of beating Kakashi-sensei now."

"Exactly," Kai said, nodding, "we need to work together; otherwise there is no way that we will be able to pass this test."

Sasuke grumbled and seemed about to refuse again when Kai got a sudden burst of inspiration, "If it comes down to it, I will go without a bell. That way you can rest assured that you will pass, and I won't be here to bug you any more than I already have."

Naruto jumped and started to object, but Kai silenced him with a look while Sasuke thought everything over, searching for a hole. "Alright," he finally said, "you've got a deal, but you had better not double-cross me, or you will regret it."

"Fair enough," Kai said before Naruto could speak, "now come one, we need to get Sakura before we can make our plan." Kai turned and set off around the clearing again with Naruto next to him while Sasuke trailed behind by a few yards.

Once they had traveled for a few seconds Naruto whispered, "What are you doing Kai? If you don't get a bell, you don't pass."

Kai just sighed as he leapt from tree branch to tree branch, "Look at it this way Oni-san, if I hadn't said anything, he wouldn't have agreed to help us. Besides," Kai smiled, "I am running on a hunch." After a few minutes the group came upon Sakura who quickly agreed to help her 'Sasuke-kun,' although they were forced to clamp a hand over her mouth to keep her from squealing.

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Kakashi was beginning to believe that his team was never going to make a move. He had read an entire two chapters in his Icha Icha book, and he was beginning to get a little anxious. As the clock worked its way closer and closer to noon, Kakashi began to tense up more and more, and then, just as the timer got to the ten minute mark, Naruto came into view, standing quite openly in front of Kakashi.

"Alright Kakashi-sensei," the hyperactive Genin shouted, "I'm sick of waiting, lets get this going, one-on-one!"

"You know," Kakashi drawled, lowering his book to his side as he looked at his student, "compared to the others, you're a little weird."

Naruto only grinned as he drew out a kunai and charged Kakashi, who drew one of his own with his free hand and prepared to defend himself.

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"You know, compared to the others, you're a little weird," Kakashi drawled as Kai smiled from his hiding place in the trees to his sensei's right. The plan was going good so far, but then, they had only taken the first step. At this point, it was up to Naruto to distract Kakashi long enough for Sasuke and Sakura to get into position, in the mean time, Kai was Naruto's backup just in case he got into trouble.

As Naruto drew his kunai and charged, Kai watched from the sidelines as each of his attacks was effortlessly dodged or blocked by Kakashi, who still had not taken any offensive action. Then, in a sudden move, Kakashi blocked one of Naruto's kunai strikes, twisting his own blade, which caused Naruto's arm to be thrown wide, leaving his body open. Kakashi quickly lashed out with a kick that contacted solidly into Naruto's abdomen, or at least as solidly as a kick can connect with a shadow clone. Kakashi stumbled slightly as his kick continued through the cloud of smoke while Naruto suddenly appeared behind him and made a swipe for the bells hanging from Kakashi's belt, only for Kakashi to disappear himself.

"You really shouldn't let your opponent get behind you Baka," Kakashi drawled as he crouched behind Naruto forming a hand sign that Kai recognized immediately, "_Konoha Hidan Taijutsu Ougi: Senin Goroshi_!" As Kakashi thrust his hands forward toward Naruto's vulnerable backside, Kai made his move. Just as Kakashi would have made contact, Naruto was tackled out of the way, causing Kakashi to once again fall off balance as his target was moved and he attacked the empty air.

"You need to pay more attention Kakashi-sensei," Kai taunted, activating his Miraigan, "otherwise you won't be in possession of those bells for long."

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Kakashi slowly rose to his feet again, placing his book back in his hip-pouch as he stood, and watched as Naruto and Kai took a back to back stance facing Kakashi with their weapons of choice at the ready. Kakashi relaxed into his stance and watched his students, smiling behind his mask. Kai stood with his Miraigan activated and several shuriken in each hand. He was not adequately equipped for close combat, and if Kakashi could continuously change his attack pattern, he could easily outsmart Kai's bloodline. Naruto, on the other hand, stood with his kunai still in hand, warily watching Kakashi as he watched them. Their plan was probably for Naruto to engage Kakashi at close range while Kai played a support role.

Kakashi had trained both of these boys in the month after Kai had arrived in Konoha, but he didn't begin to think that he had a solid, reliable advantage because of that. These two had always managed to find a way to surprise him, and he wasn't about to forget it now. He would have to force himself to think outside the box if he was going to succeed here. It was true that he had the greater power and the advantage of experience, but he knew that two fighters have a distinct advantage over a lone fighter, no matter what the difference in strength is.

After a few more tense moments, Naruto charged toward Kakashi once again while Kai jumped off to Kakashi's right and threw a few of his shuriken toward the one-eyed Jonin who simply used his kunai to deflect them while drawing another with his free hand to fend off Naruto's attacks. Naruto shifted his attack pattern to swing over to Kakashi's right while Kai jumped into the air back to the left and threw another pair of shuriken at Kakashi so that they would not interfere with Naruto's charge.

Their teamwork was very good, that much Kakashi had to grant them, but they couldn't keep it up forever. Eventually, Kakashi would find an opening, or make one himself, and then their tag efforts would be done.

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Kai threw another pair of shuriken at Kakashi, slowly forcing the Jonin backward with his combination attack with Naruto. Soon, he would be in place, and once he was, their trap would be sprung. They just had to keep this up long enough, simple, right?

Closer and closer their teacher moved toward the edge of the forest until suddenly, Naruto managed to find an opening in his defenses and lunged for it, hoping to get at the vulnerable ninja, whose eye widened in surprise before Naruto found his kunai wedged into a log.

As the smoke dissipated, Naruto left his stuck kunai and drew out another one while he and Kai returned to their back-to-back stance. "Do you see him Oni-san?" Naruto asked after a few seconds.

"Nothing yet," Kai whispered back, barely moving his mouth so that Kakashi wouldn't be able to tell he was talking, "I am checking about five seconds ahead, so if he has a plan, I'll spot him, but remember that if he goes on a whim, then I'm useless." Naruto nodded and continued watching for their teacher.

Suddenly Naruto felt the ground shift underneath his feet and looked down in time to see Kakashi's hand grab his ankle before pulling him into the loosened dirt. "_Doton: Shinju Zanshu no jutsu!" _Kakashi said as he burst from the ground a few yards away from Kai who spun around in time to see the Jonin's appearance as well as Naruto's head sticking out of the ground in front of him.

"Oni-san!" Kai shouted as he settled into his ready stance again, with his shuriken at the ready, this was not in their plan.

"I hope your ready Kai," Kakashi said as he held prepared for his attack with kunai in both hands, "because here I come!"

Kai quickly lowered the time delay on his Miraigan and began working to delay his moves long enough to dodge Kakashi's attacks. He imagined that from where Sasuke and Sakura were watching, it looked like he was coming terribly close to Kakashi's weapons, but as long as they remembered their part of the plan, Kai felt a little confident that he could still make his part work.

After a few seconds of dodging, Kai deactivated his Miraigan and followed his last dodge with a quickly jump back while throwing a shuriken at Kakashi, breaking the older ninja's rhythm and causing him to jump back to dodge the projectile.

"Alright Kakashi-sensei," Kai panted, "it's time to take this up a little, here is a present for you from a mutual friend of ours." With that Kai jumped back again and threw his four remaining shuriken at his teacher before quickly forming hand signs.

Kakashi, focusing mostly on the shuriken, was preparing himself to deflect the shuriken again when he heard Kai call out, "_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" _Kakashi paled as the four shuriken in front of him became eight, then sixteen, then thirty-two, and still kept on multiplying as they rapidly approached him. Kai was pouring a lot of chakra into this attack, and because they were _Kage Bunshin_, Kakashi knew that they were every bit as dangerous as normal shuriken. Then just as the pointy projectiles reached the point of no return, where Kakashi wouldn't be able to dodge in time, he noticed an opening in the flurry of death behind him and to his left, and so that is where Kakashi dove for, rolling when he hit the ground and quickly jumping back to his feet and standing in a defensive posture, facing Kai once again, who was panting several yards away.

"_Shuriken Kage Bunshin_?" Kakashi asked, "That is a very advanced technique, one which I would assume came from Hito."

Kai simply nodded before forming a few more hand signs, which Kakashi followed intently this time, a little too intently it would seem since he failed to notice his other two students coming up behind him to grab and immobilize his arms before kicking his knees out from under him, sending they one-eyed Jonin to the ground with Sasuke and Sakura pinning him from above.

Kai sighed and quickly rushed over to relieve Kakashi of the bells on his belt and managed to grab onto them just as the timer went off on the other side of the clearing.

"Alright you three," Kakashi said, smiling as the timer went off, "let me up so we can go tie up Naruto and eat our lunches."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded and rose, allowing Kakashi to stand, but Kai shook his head, "Actually Kakashi-sensei, I get tied up instead. I made a deal with Sasuke. If we managed to get the bells from you, I am the one who goes without, not Naruto."

Kakashi's eyebrow raised as Kai finished talking and he looked over at Sasuke and Sakura who nodded solemnly in confirmation. "Ok then," Kakashi said, "that means that I need to go free Naruto." Kakashi walked over to Naruto and formed a few hand signs before mumbling something and flaring his chakra, which caused Naruto to quickly rise from his hole in the ground. "Everyone, follow me," Kakashi called over his shoulder as he walked over to the memorial stone, "you too Kai."

Once everyone arrived at the stone, Kakashi turned to them and said, "So, let me get this straight, you formed a plan to work together to get the bells from me right?" Everyone nodded, and Kakashi asked, "Who exactly formed the plan?"

"That was me Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, raising his hand slightly.

Kakashi nodded and said, "And you knew that there was no way the Sasuke would willingly work with you, so you offered him a choice: take me on by himself and lose, or work with you and not only pass, but pass without any threat of him being eliminated by taking the burden upon yourself."

Kai nodded, sadly this time, "Yeah that's pretty much it."

Kakashi nodded again, his eye brightening up, "And that is why you all pass."

"Huh?" Sakura shouted, "All of us? I thought we all had to get a bell to pass."

Kakashi shook his head and looked at Kai questioningly, only to see him flash his bloodline on and off again, prompting Kakashi to ask him what he had foreseen at a later time, "Sakura did you not get the entire point of this exercise?"

"I thought it was just to test our retrieval skills," Sakura confessed, for once since she had been assigned to Squad 7 she wasn't completely focusing on Sasuke, but was instead trying to find an answer to Kakashi's question.

"Teamwork," Naruto said, a little smugly.

"Exactly," Kakashi said, his eye showing a smile, "the entire point of this exercise was to see if you could work together under any situation, even if one of you wouldn't be able to move on. This squad's success could someday depend on your willingness to work together without any selfishness or tendency to focus on self preservation. If you cannot work together to succeed, then you will simply not be able to do so in certain situations. You need to help your teammates whenever possible, even if it would put your life on the line to do so, and even if you have to disobey orders to aid them. Remember this: 'Those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon their friends are worse than scum.' Congratulations everyone, Squad 7 starts real missions tomorrow!"

The Genin of Squad 7 all cheered, minus Sasuke of course who simply smirked, as Kakashi handed out boxed lunches before dismissing them for the rest of the day, before telling them about their meeting place for the morning. Naruto and Kai, instead of leaving, merely walked into the trees before jumping up into the branches and waiting for Sasuke and Sakura to leave, eating their food in the mean time. Kakashi, sensing the presence of his two students still nearby, decided to hang around as well, and sat next to the memorial stone, eating his own lunch, somehow managing to do so without removing his mask.

Once Sakura and Sasuke had been gone for a few minutes, Kai and Naruto took the remainder of their lunches and went to sit next to their masked sensei. "So," Kakashi said after they had all finished eating in silence, "I assume that you knew about the real purpose of the test." At Kai's nod, he continued, "So what I want to know is, what new power does the Miraigan possess that allowed you to figure this out?"

Kai smiled, "Actually Kakashi-sensei, it was Naruto who figured out what it was. I had a dream last night where we all took the test and failed miserably. Then, at the end, when you came after me, you made several comments about us not working together that let me figure out what we were supposed to do," Naruto sent Kai a hard glance, prompting Kai to continue, "once Oni-san convinced me that it was a true dream-prophesy that is."

Kakashi just nodded and closed his eye, deep in thought, before opening it again and saying, "Alright Kai, was there anything in this dream that could be used to tip you off that it is a prophesy and not a regular dream?"

Kai nodded enthusiastically, "Oh yeah, definitely."

Naruto spoke up, "When I showed up at Oni-san's house this morning, he was completely convinced that we had all failed the test."

Kai shuddered as Kakashi turned his gaze back to him, wide eyed in surprise, "It was very, very, real. So I guess that if that ever happens again, once I realize it, I would know that it was a prophecy."

Kakashi nodded again, his face stoic once more, "Alright, from now on, I want you to let either the Hokage or myself know every time you have one of these dreams. If you cannot reach either of us quickly, write down every detail you can remember, and then give that to one of us. Do you understand? This could end up being one of the most important things I ever ask you to do."

Kai looked at Kakashi questioningly, "I understand Kakashi-sensei, but why could it be that important?"

Kakashi sighed, "The way I see it Kai, your vision last night had a huge impact on your success today, and any future vision will probably also be centered around your own happiness and well being, but I know that you care about this village and several people in it, so you could one day have a vision about something happening to Konoha that will need to be known. Right now though, only the Hokage, Naruto, and I know about your bloodline, and only the Hokage and I have enough authority to do anything about it, so you will have to limit who you tell."

Kai nodded once again and Kakashi's eye showed a smile as he changed the subject, "So Kai, when and how did you learn _Shuriken Kage Bunshin_?"

Naruto became interested as Kai smiled again and said, "Like I told you Kakashi-sensei, 'from a mutual friend of ours.'"

"I would assume you mean Hito," Kakashi said, his eye closing for a second before he said, "just how much of his memory have you sorted and absorbed Kai?"

"Well," Kai started, "I have sorted through most of it by now. I spend some time on the task every night before I go to sleep. Mostly, I just check to see what type of memory it is, whether it is useful in battle or just a past event. I have 'learned' many of his Jutsu like that, but I can only use a select few. I have only had practice with _Kage Bunshin_,_ Shuriken Kage Bunshin_, and a few others, but most of the other ones I can use are too destructive for me to practice easily."

Kakashi nodded and said, "I will talk to the Hokage about giving you access to the ANBU training area when no one else is using it; that way you will be able to gain the skill with these other Jutsu that you may need one day. The only thing I ask is that you don't try to use a new Jutsu in actual combat just because it is a new Jutsu. Doing that could wind up getting you hurt or even killed. There is a big difference between using something effectively in practice and using something effectively in a life or death battle."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, nodding, "I understand, and thank you for your help, but would I be able to bring Naruto with me?"

Before Kakashi could answer, Naruto said, "No thanks Oni-san. I appreciate your help with the _Kage Bunshin_, but I don't want all my Jutsu to come from you. If that happens, then I may start to doubt my own ability if you aren't there to help me."

Kakashi nodded his approval, "Well said Naruto. Now one last question before I let you two go. Kai, what was the real reason you offered to go without a bell?"

Kai smiled as Naruto looked over once again in interest, "I guessed. I had figured out the point of the test when I laid out the deal to Sasuke, and decided to take a chance on the elimination thing being a test for our teamwork abilities when there was a chance that one of us wouldn't make it, but we didn't know who."

Kakashi shook his head, still smiling, "I think I am going to have my hands full with this team," he thought before saying, "alright you two, get out of here, I have a report to file. Meet up at the mission assignment station tomorrow so we can get onto some real missions." Nodding, the two Genin, now in reality as well as name, made their way out of the clearing and back toward Konoha and their homes.

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AN: Well I hate to do this, but this is probably the best stopping place I will find for a while. The reason I hate to do this is because this chapter is only seven and a half pages on Word, making it my shortest yet, which stinks. But oh well, more action that was fun to write, and another Miraigan secret has been revealed.

Here is this chapter's Jutsu List:

_Konoha Hidan Taijutsu Ougi: Senin Goroshi: _Konoha Secret Taijutsu Master Art: Thousand Years of Pain!

_Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu_: Earth Style: Inner Decapitation Technique

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

_Kage Bunshin_: Shadow Clone

Until next time, be sure to review.


	8. Chapter 8

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Chapter 8

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only Kai and the Miraigan.

AN: Further we go into the Naruto story that we all know and love. I am really getting into some of the parts that I have been planning for a while now, and I am getting very excited. I hope you enjoy Chapter 8.

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Kai walked into the Mission Assignment room in the Hokage tower with a certain amount of reluctance. It had been three weeks since the bell test and he had had almost no free time, but not entirely because of missions. The very first day of missions, Squad 7's collective hopes had been shattered when they had been assigned to capture a run-away cat named Tora for the Firelord's wife, a mission which they had performed seven separate times now, that only left them scratched up for all their trouble before being sent home for the day.

On his way home that day, Kai had been intercepted by an ANBU wearing a dog mask, who led him to a training field surrounded by a wall that could rival Konoha's outer walls in size, but with no visible gate. The ANBU simply continued on toward the wall before jumping onto the wall and traveling up it, which caused Kai to grimace. He still had some trouble controlling his chakra flow, but managed to get along in this instance by jumping to a treetop first before leaping almost to the to of the wall, managing to arrive just after the surprised ANBU.

Once Kai had crested the top of the wall, he found himself looking over large training area that was pockmarked with battle scars from various highly destructive Jutsu. The ANBU then informed him that the Hokage had spoken to several head ANBU members and had explained his situation as the elderly ninja had been told by Kakashi. Therefore, Kai was to be allowed access to the ANBU training grounds for any and all practice of any Jutsu that he deemed to be too dangerous for his team's regular training grounds or for any Jutsu that he wanted to keep a secret.

Ever since that day, Kai had gone to the ANBU training grounds for a few hours after each mission and practiced his high-power Jutsu. So far he had become quite capable in many Katon and Suiton Jutsu, but was having some trouble with the more complex Doton Jutsu, and he couldn't seem to find many Futon or Raiton Jutsu in Hito's memory. But Kai took what he had and made it work, and as such he had become quite capable with the Jutsu he had access too, but his chakra control and reserves were still too limited for him to be able to use many of them more than a few times a day.

Then, after each day of training, he would return home to spend the rest of the day in his mindscape to try and discover more Jutsu he could try out, and to further sort through the memories that Hito had deposited within his head. Then, after a week of this schedule, just when he had settled into the routine, he had come across a large set of seals within Hito's memories. Seals for storage, various kinds of exploding tags, seals for restraint, and even a few that he blushed when he learned the use of.

The next day, when he had informed Kakashi of his discovery, his sensei had informed the Hokage who had found decided to help Kai with his seal skills himself. So after his first week of missions, after Kai finished his training, he would go to the Hokage's office and receive a few hours of seal training there. So far, Kai had managed to master the use of storage seals, and so now traveled with a few scrolls hanging off his belt at any given time, as well as most of the varieties of exploding tags that he had found.

Basically their lessons would start with Kai pulling up a memory of a seal and writing it out without infusing any chakra into it to activate it. Then, the Hokage would look at his and identify its uses before drilling Kai on its proper creation, which Kai would occasionally test out right then, or, in the case of some of the exploding tags, the next day at the ANBU training grounds. There had actually been a few occasions where Kai became the teacher instead of the student since Hito had apparently known many seals that the Hokage, in all his experience, hadn't seen before. This made Kai feel oddly proud, that he had some information, and possibly skills, that the Hokage did not.

There were only a few problems that Kai had with these lessons. One of which was that the first thing that the Hokage had demanded he do, or rather not do, was not to call him Hokage-sama all the time. So now, Kai would walk into the Hokage's office, greeting _Sarutobi__-sensei_ before the lessons began. The only reason that this bothered Kai was that he was asked to do this even when others were around, and it made him feel awkward to call the Hokage Sarutobi-sensei while everyone else was referring to him with much more respect than he implied.

The only other problem was that he felt guilty about the ever increasing mountain of paperwork that he saw growing on the Hokage's desk. At least that was a problem until two weeks after his bell test when he came across a memory of Hito using _Kage__Bunshin_to do some of his own paperwork. Once he had imparted that information to the Hokage, he had felt much better, but had found himself distracted by the copies of his teacher still working while the real Sarutobi worked with him, but that had only lasted a few days.

Between missions, his self-inflicted training, the Hokage's seal work, and his mental 'paperwork', which was a task that no Jutsu could make easier, he was beginning to feel like he was being worn a bit thin himself. And that was how he felt as he was walking into the mission assignment room.

"Kai!" Naruto called out from where the rest of Squad 7, minus Kakashi of course, had gathered, waiting for their sensei so they could receive their mission for the day. As Kai walked over, he studied the looks on his teammates faces. Sakura looked as if she had cut her sleep short again to spend the morning working on her hair and makeup, which she had been doing for the last week after a particularly messy gardening task, Kai refused to call them missions, in which they had all gotten covered in dirt from head to toe. Because of her lack of sleep, she had been increasingly moody every day this week.

Sasuke just sent a quick glare at Kai before turning away to stare at the rest of the room. The Uchiha had not been on particularly good standing with Kai since the test. Apparently, seeing Kai used an advanced Jutsu like_ Shuriken __Kage__Bunshin_ had put him into a position as Sasuke's rival, and therefore, someone to be hated by the broody Genin.

Naruto was the only one who had a smile for Kai, but it was only a brief one. While none of his other teammates had the same strenuous schedule that Kai did, they all had something that was bothering them, and Naruto was no exception. His problem was the missions themselves. He was really getting sick of all these missions that anyone, even a normal civilian, could do and was fast approaching his breaking point.

The four Genin were only forced to wait for a short while before Kakashi strolled in, reading from his ever present Icha Icha novel. As Kakashi neared, he looked up and said, "Alright you four, lets get in line," and abruptly changed direction so he would end up at the end of the line of Nin waiting to get their missions for the day. As Squad 7 slowly worked their way up to the table where the Hokage and Iruka were seated, Naruto's irritation only continued to grow. He knew that they were just going to get another stupid mission, probably that stupid cat again, and he couldn't see himself staying sane after one more cat chase.

"Ah," the Hokage said as they reached the front of the line, "Squad 7, alright, your mission will be…digging potatoes…or babysitting a counselor's grandson…or retrieving the firelord's cat, Tora."

"NO!" Naruto shouted as his worst fears were confirmed, "there is no way that I will chase after that stupid cat again!"

Kai placed a calming hand on Naruto's shoulder as he said,"What I think Naruto means to say is that the missions that we have been assigned could be performed by civilians without as much cost."

Sarutobi fought down a smile, "Cost?"

Kai nodded, "Any person could easily complete these missions Sarutobi-sensei. By using ninja, even Genin level ninja, instead of a civilian or an academy student, you are using a very valuable and highly limited resource in a manner that does not fully occupy its potential. These missions could probably be put to better use as training exercises for the students or for the oldest ninja who aren't fit for active duty any longer so they won't feel as if they are no longer useful anymore."

"We need a real mission!" Naruto interjected as Kai paused.

Iruka started to say something, but Kakashi cut him off, "I believe that my squad is ready for a tougher mission Hokage-sama. They have shown that they can work together as a team, as well as follow orders when they are given them."

The Hokage thought for a moment before nodding and saying, "Very well then, send him in."

A door opened behind Squad 7, causing them to turn and see the man walking into the room. The man was wearing a dark colored vest and tan pants with a white towel wrapped around his neck. He had a backpack with a sleeping back tied to the top, which showed that he had traveled to Konoha from somewhere else. Apparently he had been drinking recently since his face was red with the effects of his drink, not to mention the fact that he was still holding his sake bottle. At least this mission seemed like it would take them outside of Konoha, even if their client was a drunken moron.

"So these are the ninja I get for my money?" the man slurred before taking another swig from his sake bottle, "the purple one looks like he won't be able to do much at all, not to mention the orange guy, he looks like the weakest of the lot, and that includes the big headed pink one," his remarks, naturally, made him the object of glares from the three Genin.

"Don't doubt their skill," Kakashi said, "and even if they cannot effectively protect you, I am a Jonin, and am more than capable of protecting you from anything we may encounter."

"Squad 7," the Hokage said, "This man is Tazuna, a bridge builder from Wave Country. Your assignment is an escort mission. You will escort Tazuna back to his home and protect him while he finishes building his bridge. It is a C rank mission, so you shouldn't have too much trouble."

Kakashi nodded and finally decided to put his book away before saying, "Alright you four, meet at the gate in one hour. I will see you all then. Pack for an extended trip." Then Kakashi walked over to Tazuna before taking the drunken man's arm and escorting him out, leaving his team to prepare on their own.

Kai, after bidding goodbye to Naruto, quickly left and took to the rooftops to get to his apartment as quickly as possible. Once he arrived, Kai quickly walked over to his closet and reached for a box on the floor. It was long past time for him to change out of his original outfit.

From what little memory he had, he knew that the outfit that he had been wearing, mainly purple with a small amount of black, was for members of his family that hadn't become true ninja yet. But now that he had been assigned a real mission, one that was actually something that only a ninja could do, he felt that it was time to put on his new outfit, one that marked members of his family as true ninja.

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Naruto arrived at the gates to Konoha to find all his teammates were there except for Kai. The cheerful Genin walked up and waved a greeting to Sakura while offering a glare to Sasuke, both of which were ignored. After waiting a few moments, Kakashi and Tazuna both came into sight, Kakashi carrying his own gear while Tazuna was the same as before except he no longer held his sake bottle and the flush of drunkenness was not as apparent upon his cheeks.

"Is everyone here already?" Kakashi asked as he came within speaking distance.

"No Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, "Kai isn't here yet."

"Well he isn't quite late yet," Kakashi said, glancing at a clock outside of a nearby store, "we can wait for him."

"I don't see why we need to delay any more," Tazuna said hurriedly, "I thought that all your squads had only three Genin under their Jonin leaders. Why do we need that purple guy?"

"What purple guy?" Kai asked as he walked up. Everyone immediately looked over at him.

"Kai," Naruto said, his head cocked to one side, "what happened to your clothes?"

"Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, giving Naruto a look so as to say that he wasn't ignoring his question, "Do you remember what I said about my family and the different clothing to go with rank?"

"Ah, yes," Kakashi said nodding, "So this is your family's sign of a full ninja? Why didn't you decide to wear it before this?"

"Quite frankly," Kai said, shaking his head, "until today, I didn't see myself as doing anything more than the duties of a civilian or a student. With this mission, I can confidently say that I have earned the right to wear these clothes."

"Well Oni-san," Naruto said, smiling, "these are certainly better than your old clothes." Kai's new outfit consisted of the same loose black pants only this time the bottoms of the pants were tucked into a light pair of black boots. He still wore a long sleeved shirt with the sleeve ends tucked into a pair of black wristbands, but this one was not as loose as his old one. He also still wore the same black belt as before with a hip pouch hanging off of it on his right side with another, smaller, pouch attached to his left shin. Basically his outfit was the same as his old one, but this time, the outfit was mainly black with a little bit of dark purple on the collar, wristbands, belt, and at the tops of the boots.

"You really are a dobe," Sasuke smirked, "you're going to bake in that dark outfit."

Kai smirked once Sasuke finished talking, which caught the Genin off guard slightly, although he would never show it, "Actually Sasuke, this fabric was designed to be light weight and loose so I won't overheat even in direct sun. This is some of the best clothing money can buy."

Kakashi smiled as he said, "Alright then Kai, I am happy that you finally changed out of that purple thing you called clothing, but where are your supplies?"

Kai smiled again as he reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a scroll, "Sarutobi-sensei helped me learn how to seal items into scrolls; I just put all my stuff in here with a storage seal." Kakashi smiled again while Sasuke's eyes widened. Kai had been getting special instruction? What was that about?

"Ok," Kakashi said as he turned and began walking out of the village, followed shortly by Tazuna, "Let's get going then." Squad 7 and Tazuna traveled at the bridge builder's pace on the road that would eventually take them to a town where they could board a boat that would transport them to Tazuna's hometown where he was building his bridge.

After about an hour and a half of traveling, Kakashi motioned for Kai to move up next to him at the front of the group. "Kai," Kakashi said, "I want you to use your Miraigan to watch ahead by about thirty seconds, just long enough so you can see our group ahead of you. Tazuna isn't telling us something. He's a little too nervous."

Kai nodded his understanding and said, "I should be able to keep that up for a few hours before I become useless Kakashi-sensei."

"Good, do it," Kakashi nodded as Kai activated and tuned his Miraigan to the proper time frame. For the next hour or so, Kakashi walked behind Kai so he could give him slight corrections when he began to stray off the path while Kai carefully watched his group, including himself, as it walked ahead of him, trying to see anything that could cause trouble.

Then, Kai noticed a spray of mist and a cloud of smoke on the road ahead of him and he stiffened. Kakashi, noticing this, lightly touched Kai on the shoulder to show that he had seen and Kai relaxed again. The Genin watched for a few more seconds before adjusting the time delay on his Miraigan enough to see the start of the disturbance. "Puddles," Kai said quiet enough that only Kakashi heard, deactivating his Miraigan and searching with normal vision for the puddles that had produced the two Nin in the future that he had seen.

A few seconds later, Kai noticed the glare of sunlight from the cloudless sky above onto water that shouldn't have been there. Again Kakashi tapped Kai's shoulder to show that he noticed it too and Kai slowed down enough to drop back to Naruto and placed his hand on his weapon pouch, hoping Naruto would get the hint. Just as Kakashi neared the puddles in the middle of the road, the surface of the water began to shift. Suddenly, as Kakashi prepared to move, two figures jumped out of the puddle and wrapped Kakashi in a chain with each end connected to twin gauntlets, one on each Nin's arm.

Before anyone else could make a move, the two black cloaked ninja jerked their bladed gauntlets away from Kakashi, causing the razor-covered chain to dig into his flesh, easily slicing through after an initial resistance. Kai gasped as the chunks of Kakashi's body fell to the ground with the hollow clunk of wood…wait. It was wood, Kakashi had used a _Kawarimi__ no Jutsu _to prevent his early and bloody demise, but the two attackers didn't seem to notice.

"One down," one of them said.

"And four to go!" the other finished as they retracted and reset the chains in their gauntlets. These gloves were definitely their weapons of choice, and seemed to be connected by the blade-edged chain that could be retracted into both clawed gauntlets. Their teamwork had to be extraordinary for them to be able to work together like that, but that still meant that they had a huge disadvantage if their coordination and teamwork could be disrupted.

The two figures stood next to each other with a few feet of chain stretched between their gauntlets, standing just in front of Kakashi's "body" before suddenly dashing forward, this time heading for the next closest figure, Kai.

Not one to be caught so easily, Kai formed a quick hand sign before he was trapped by the chain that was quickly jerked to cut into his body just like it had Kakashi's. This time however, the assailant's target merely disappeared in a poof of smoke as the _Kage__Bunshin_ was destroyed. This seemed to bring Naruto and Sasuke out of their hesitation as they both leapt forward so each could engage a different Nin while Sakura took a defensive stance in front of Tazuna.

Kai had taken a position in a tree next to the path. He activated his Miraigan and checked ahead a few seconds so he could time his throw just right. Meanwhile, Sasuke was easily holding off his opponent in a Taijutsu match as the chain was hindering his movement since his partner had to move on his own to match Naruto's moves. Naruto was only faring slightly worse than Sasuke. He had been hit once already, but it was only a glancing blow on the back of his hand, and other than that, he was easily holding his opponent off.

The fight only lasted for a few moments before Kai got his opportunity, waiting an extra second to allow for time lapse, Kai threw his kunai down and pinned the chain to a large chunk of Kakashi's log-body. Then, the unexpected happened, when the two cloaked ninja noticed that their chain had been disabled, they both gave their gauntlets a twist and a jerk and the chain fell from each one before lying strewn across the ground between the two fighters.

No longer limited by their chain, the two enemy Nin were slowly turning their battles around in their favor, and Kai felt that he needed to provide some more support before his teammates fell to their attackers. Quickly, Kai placed his hands into a familiar cross-shaped hand sign, "_Kage__Bunshin__ No Jutsu!" _he called out as four copies of himself appeared in the trees around him. All four shadow clones immediately leapt out of the trees to help Naruto fight while the real Kai decided to help out Sasuke.

Shadow clones may have been solid copies of a person, and they may have been able to enhance training for the user of the Jutsu, but that didn't mean that they could easily adapt like a person could. He decided that he would need to focus on working with Sasuke personally so his clones wouldn't screw up. They could work with Naruto because he had worked with Naruto for so long that it was almost as natural to him as breathing, but not so with Sasuke.

As Kai landed on the other side of Sasuke's target he noticed Sasuke's eyes follow him for a second, acknowledging his presence, before focusing once more on his opponent and his deadly clawed gauntlet. Unfortunately, the black cloaked Nin noticed Sasuke's eyes and quickly twisted around to slash at Kai with his gauntlet claws, but Kai was able to dodge out of the way at the last second. Then, trying to take advantage of his opponent's distraction, Sasuke jumped into the air as the Nin turned back around and delivered a kick to his opponent's head before twisting around and planting his fist onto the top of his head, and then using that hand to vault over and kick the back of the man's head, sending him into unconsciousness. Sasuke wasn't done however, as soon as he landed, he spun on his left heel and sent a chakra powered kick into the unconscious man as he fell to the ground, causing him to go flying over toward where Naruto was fighting. The assassin turned human projectile plowed through Kai's two remaining _Kage__Bunshin_, dispelling them, before crashing into Naruto's opponent knocking him out as well.

"Well done Squad 7," Kakashi said as he dropped down again from the treetops opposite from where Kai had been, "very well done."

"Where were you Kakashi-sensei," Sakura shrieked, "Sasuke-kun was in trouble!"

Sasuke just hmphed and turned away as Kakashi said, "Actually Sakura, Sasuke and the others were doing very well for themselves. I was ready to step in if I was needed, but they performed admirably, even against these two, who where at least Chunin level."

"What?" Sakura screamed, "No way!"

"Yes Sakura," Kakashi said, "they were Chunin level, but that is not important now," Kakashi walked over to the two unconscious ninja and pulled them up onto his shoulders before taking them over to a tree and tying them to it, "now we need to know why they attacked.

Just as Kakashi finished tying them up, Naruto fell to his knees. "Oni-san!" Kai shouted as he rushed over and performed a quick medical Jutsu, only to find that he had been poisoned, probably by the scratch he had received from his opponent's gauntlet. Thinking fast, Kai drew a kunai and sliced the small scratch open more so the poison could bleed out for a few seconds, all the while maintaining his first Jutsu, before finally using _Shosen__ no Jutsu_ to heal his hand again.

"Thanks Kai," Naruto said, still on his knees, "I feel a little better now, I guess I should have been more careful."

"What was it Kai?" Kakashi asked.

"Some kind of poison," Kai responded to his sensei's question, "I think it was on their claws."

Kakashi cursed under his breath as he walked back over to where he had tied up the two Chunin and felt for a pulse on each of them before cursing, "Damn, they must have made contact with each other's claws when Sasuke sent them flying." Kakashi sighed, "I guess we only have one other option," he turned to Tazuna, who gulped, "Tazuna, you have some explaining to do."

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AN: And there is chapter 8 I hope you liked it.

Here is the Jutsu List:

_Kage__Bunshin_: Shadow Clone

_Shuriken __Kage__Bunshin_: Shuriken Shadow Clone

_Kawarimi__ no Jutsu:_ Replacement Technique

_Kage__Bunshin__ no Jutsu:_ Shadow Clone Technique

_Shosen__ no Jutsu_: Mystical Palm Technique

And for those who haven't picked it up yet:

Katon: Fire Style

Doton: Earth Style

Futon: Wind StyleSuiton: Water Style

Raiton: Lightning Style

Other than that, I really don't have anything to say, please review.


	9. Chapter 9

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Chapter 9

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Disclaimer: I only own Kai and my original Jutsu, which haven't appeared since the first chapter...

AN: I was hoping that passing the 60,000 word mark last chapter would bring me more reviews. I certainly got a lot of hits, but no more reviews... Oh well, here is Chapter 9, the continuation of the Land of Waves arc.

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"So," Kakashi said once they had disposed of the bodies of the two black clad ninja and set up camp for the evening, it was still very early, but they had some interrogations to perform, "what haven't you been telling us Tazuna?"

The old man seemed like he wanted to pull back into himself in an attempt to hide, but after sighing softly, he started talking, "To put it simply, my village needed the help and we simply couldn't afford to pay for the proper mission level."

"Why exactly is that?" Kai asked when Tazuna seemed to need prompting to continue.

The man just sighed again before saying, "My country is in the grip of a vicious crime lord named Gato. Some time ago, he came into the area and basically sealed off all trade to my village, since it is on an island, we cannot survive easily without trade from other regions. Gato has placed an iron grip on our land, and we knew that there was only one way to break his hold: we needed to re-establish trade. To that end, I started building our bridge. I was nearly done when Gato finally learned what was going on, and started trying to stop me. When things started to go missing, many of my workers thought nothing of it, but I tried to push them to work faster. Then, a few of my people didn't report for work, we haven't heard from any of them since. Then there was more open sabotage and several instances of some of Gato's known goons harassing my workers. Everyone is getting scared, but they all know that we need this bridge or else we will all starve once winter sets in."

"And so you decided to try and get some help from a ninja village, but couldn't afford the proper price, and were then forced to lie," Sakura said when Tazuna paused again.

The man nodded and slumped over to rest his head in his hands saying, "I figured that it would only be a matter of time before Gato did the same, so I decided to beat him to the punch, but it seems like I was too late."

"Well," Naruto said, "where does that leave us now?"

"The way I see it," Kakashi said thoughtfully, "a choice has been presented to us."

Sasuke looked up from his usual broody position, "What do you mean?"

"Well Sasuke," Kakashi said as he looked around at all of his students before turning his gaze to Tazuna, "Tazuna lied to us about the mission, there is no doubt about that," Tazuna seemed to droop even more, "but we don't have to give up on the mission. We can go back if you want to, but I think we should take a vote. Do we continue on the mission to help Tazuna's village in Wave Country, or do we go back to Konoha and report this to the Hokage?"

The Genin of Squad 7 sat for a moment in silence, each lost in their own thoughts before Naruto spoke up, "We don't have much of a choice do we? If we abandon the mission, we will keep ourselves out of danger, but…"

"Want to run away do you dobe?" Sasuke smirked.

"But," Naruto emphasized, glaring at Sasuke again, "if we go back we will also put his village in danger since they cannot afford any help other than us. We are already getting paid for this, so I say we go for it, even though it is outside the original mission parameters."

"I agree with Naruto," Kai said, "we cannot let his village suffer if it is in our power to stop it, besides, if we went back home now, a lot of the people in Konoha won't know about the circumstances behind us abandoning our mission, only that we ran away from our first real mission, and we may not be able to get another good mission again."

Kakashi smiled when Kai finished talking. With that simple statement, Kai had assured that Sasuke wouldn't give up on the mission, and whatever Sasuke did, Sakura would follow. Since Naruto was already in for it, Kakashi only had to wait for their inevitable agreement and then speak his judgment.

Sasuke listened to Kai and seemed to pale slightly when he had finished, "I'm in," he said, quietly.

"Me too," Sakura immediately said, just as Kakashi had predicted.

"Alright, were going to Wave Country," the Jonin said causing Tazuna to slump down even further, this time in relief instead of grief, while Naruto and Kai smiled to each other.

"Thank you all so much," Tazuna said in relief, "I don't know how I can ever repay you."

"Well," Sasuke snorted, "you could start by telling us the truth from now on."

Tazuna's face turned red as he nodded while Kakashi chuckled slightly before saying, "Alright Squad 7, lets get ready for the night. I want Sakura and Sasuke to go get firewood for the night. Naruto, you go and fill our canteens at the stream we passed earlier today, by the time you return, dinner will be ready and we can decide who will take the first watch before we go to sleep.

As the Genin went off to perform their assigned tasks, Tazuna stood and excused himself before going to his tent, leaving Kakashi to motion for Kai to help him with the campfire and food. As Kai approached, Kakashi turned to him and said, "So Kai, any predictions you would like to share?"

Kai shook his head, "No Kakashi-sensei, I haven't had any dreams that felt like the bell test prediction yet, but as soon as I do, I will let you know." With that Kai turned back to his work on the fire pit he had been digging and filling with the last of their fire wood.

"Alright Kai, just be sure you do, it could mean the difference between success and failure on this mission." Kakashi said as he walked over to his pack and pulled out a few items before returning to start preparing their dinner.

"Kakashi-sensei," Kai said after a few more minutes.

"What is it Kai?" Kakashi asked, looking up.

Kai hesitated before saying, "I think I may have to tell Sasuke and Sakura about my Miraigan soon. It was easy enough to hide it from them while we were performing those stupid D rank missions back home, but out here, especially with the situation we're in now, I may have to reveal it in order for us to succeed."

"Hmm," Kakashi sat in thought for a few moments, "I see your problem. Well, when it comes down to it, it is your choice Kai. If you have no other choice, then that is what you have to do, just let me know and I will make sure they know that they cannot tell anyone else."

Kai sighed, "Thank you Kakashi-sensei; that is all I can ask for." Kakashi nodded and Kai go back to work lighting the fire pit.

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The next morning proceeded fairly uneventfully, up with the sun and moving an hour later, and Squad 7 plus Tazuna continued on their way toward the bridge builder's home village. Kakashi had given Kai the same instructions as the day before, and the Genin was periodically activating his Miraigan to check ahead and see if they would be attacked again.

Then, about an hour after they stopped for lunch, Kai activated his Miraigan again, only to find himself staring at a wall of white. Kai nodded his head slightly and Kakashi, once again walking close behind him, tapped his shoulder to show that he understood the signal. Kai then began lowering the time delay trying to figure out what was going on. Then, just as he reached the thirty second mark, still seeing only white, he suddenly heard Kakashi shout, "Get down," and tackle Kai to the ground before a large object whooshed through the air above them.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei," Kai said as they rose to their feet again, "I guess I wasn't checking fast enough."

"It's alright Kai," Kakashi said, looking over to a tree ahead of them across a small clearing that was formed at a fork in the path where one branch led off to a lake after a few dozen feet, "at least we had a little forewarning." Kai looked up at his sensei with a smile on his face and saw the serious look on his face before he turned and followed the Jonin's line of sight. Kai gasped when he saw the tree. It was pretty much a normal tree, except for the huge head-chopping cleaver that had wedged its way into the tree.

This was no normal sword, and Kai had learned a lot about swords from Hito's memory. This weapon was huge, easily six feet long from end to end, and would take enormous strength to wield. Anyone who could handle something like that would be a dangerous foe, that much was certain.

Just as Kai finished his examination of the huge weapon a man appeared, standing on top of the sword. The man wore a pair of light blue pants with the bottom part of them tucked into boots that looked like they had been made out of the hide of a dairy cow. He had a similar type of garment on his arms that ran from wrist to elbow. He wore no shirt at all, but did have a set of straps crossing his chest that were probably for holding the cleaver onto his back. He wore a Hitai-ate sideways on his head, which kept Kai from seeing what village he was from, and the lower half of his face was wrapped completely in bandages.

"Momochi Zabuza," Kakashi suddenly said, causing Kai to jump.

"Ah," Zabuza said, "I see you have heard of me. Since you know of me then I would assume that you know what I am capable of. With that being the case, I suggest that you all hand over the old man to me, or else you will find yourselves just as dead as he will be."

"Oh I have indeed heard of you," Kakashi said, slowly working his hand toward his weapon pouch while stepping up to place himself between Kai and Zabuza, "you are known as Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Mist, a high ranking missing Nin. Responsible for the failed assassination of the Mizukage some time ago."

Zabuza seemed to stiffen slightly before he relaxed again and reached down to grasp the handle of his sword before jumping off of it and pulling it from the tree as he came down to the ground, somehow attaching it to his back after landing, "But I assume that you aren't going to let this knowledge stop you from trying to fight me, are you?"

"No I'm afraid that I cannot let you jeopardize our mission. If you are trying to get to Tazuna, you will have to go through me," Kakashi said as he reached up to pull his hitai-ate aside and reveal his Sharingan.

Zabuza just laughed, "Kakashi of the Sharingan eye, well this will be interesting. So I actually get to see the Sharingan in action huh?"

In answer to his question, Kakashi gave a hand signal to Kai, who jumped back and took up a defensive position around Tazuna with the rest of his team, while Kakashi drew out a kunai and sank into a defensive crouch. Zabuza merely chuckled and said, "Oh well, have it your way," before raising his left arm above his head while his right hand moved in front of his face, both hands forming a half-seal, "_Ninpou__Kirigakure__ no Juts__u."_ Then, as Kai and the others watched, the entire area was flooded with mist, the same mist that had been blocking Kai's sight through the Miraigan, keeping him from detecting their assailant.

Kai began to shake as Zabuza's voice began emanating through the mist from all directions, "Eight points: larynx, spine, liver, jugular vein, collarbone, kidneys, heart; now, which vital organ should I attack?"

The mist continued to thicken while Kai's fear grew with every second that Zabuza didn't show himself. Then, after a few seconds that seemed like hours, there was a surge of Chakra and the mist began clearing, eventually revealing Kakashi holding his hands together in a hand seal, releasing the chakra to dispel the mist. "Don't worry everyone," he said as he lowered his hands, "I won't allow any harm to come to my comrades."

Suddenly Kai heard a voice behind him, "It's over." Kai turned his head just in time to see Zabuza standing within their defensive formation with his head-chopper positioned to sweep through them all in one stroke. Then, moving faster than Kai was able to follow, Kakashi was standing inside their group as well, with a kunai planted in Zabuza's side, the only problem was, Zabuza was bleeding water.

"_Mizu__Bunshin_" Kakashi grumbled as he pulled his blade out and the fake Zabuza transformed into a shapeless blob before collapsing to the ground, forming a puddle. Then Zabuza was suddenly behind Kakashi, bringing his mighty cleaver around to slice the Jonin in half. Kai tried to call out a warning, but was forced to watch as his sensei was cut clean through by Zabuza's mighty blade, only for the Jonin to collapse in another puddle of water, catching Zabuza off guard.

Zabuza stood straight once again, only to find a kunai being pressed to this throat, "This is it for you Zabuza," Kakashi said as Squad 7 and Tazuna all backed away from the two Jonin.

"Are you so sure Sharingan Kakashi?" Zabuza laughed causing Kakashi's eyes to widen when he realized that the voice was coming from behind him. Pulling his hand back quickly, Kakashi cut through the Zabuza in front of him with his kunai, causing it to dissolve into yet another puddle. Kakashi started to turn, but only managed to catch movement out of the corner of his eye as Zabuza once again swung his sword in a wide arc, hoping to decapitate the Jonin.

Kakashi managed to duck just in time to avoid the attack which caused Zabuza to lose control of his sword due to his own momentum. Zabuza however, quickly reversed his grip and pushed himself off of his sword handle, launching into a kick that sent Kakashi flying into the lake. Moving quickly, Zabuza pulled his sword from the ground and swung it onto his back before disappearing, only to reappear next to the emerging Kakashi, who sputtered as he floated to the top of the water.

Just as Kakashi looked up and prepared to counterattack, Zabuza finished forming his hand seals and called out, "_Suir__o__ no Jutsu," _and thrust his right hand in Kakashi's direction. Kakashi cried out in surprise as the water under and around him started to lift him up out of the water, forming a bubble that trapped him within its water walls with Zabuza's hand plunged into one side, apparently holding the Jutsu together.

Kakashi, realizing his situation, turned to his team and shouted, "Get out of here, protect the bridge builder. This battle has been decided. There is no way you can stand up to him, so run!"

Zabuza chuckled darkly, "Now Kakashi, I can't let them do that. I'm going to kill the old man, and if they get in the way, they will die as well." Zabuza then formed some one-handed seals and a water clone rose up from the edge of the lake before beginning to walk onto dry land, pulling its sword out as it came slowly towards the four Genin around Tazuna.

"RUN!" Kakashi yelled one final time, knowing that their opening was rapidly shrinking.

"We can't do that Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, staring down the Zabuza water clone.

"Wasn't that your first lesson Kakashi-sensei," Naruto said, matching Kai's glare, "We cannot abandon our comrades."

"Besides," Sasuke said as he walked up to help form a front line with the other two boys, "if we did run, and Zabuza killed you, there would be nothing stopping him from coming after us, so its better that we fight now, while he doesn't have the element of surprise." Sakura merely stood, grim faced, in front of Tazuna.

"Alright guys," Kai said, "what's the plan?"

"No idea," Naruto said, "let's just wing it." With that, Naruto charged forward toward the Zabuza clone, forming a familiar hand seal as he went and calling out, "_Kage__Bunshin__ no Jutsu!_" causing dozens of clones to appear all around the Zabuza clone with a poof of smoke. Naruto and his clones all leapt into the air and dog piled the sword wielder, who just swung his cleaver and sent all the Naruto's flying, instantly dispelling the clones.

The real Naruto, who had landed next to Kai and Sasuke, groaned as he stood up and said, "Alright, new plan. Kai do you think you can distract him for a moment?"

Kai nodded and said, "Sure Oni-san."

"Alright," Naruto said, "Sasuke, you're with me."

Putting his friends out of mind, Kai reached down to his weapon pouch and pulled out a few shuriken, smiling as he did so. "What's so funny, boy?" the Zabuza clone laughed as he returned the sword to his back before cracking his knuckles, "Do you want to try your hand as well?"

"Less talk," Kai said, as he moved his left hand over the shuriken he had in his right, modifying them slightly, "more action!"

Kai threw his three shuriken at the clone, who waited a few more seconds before deftly snatching them out of thin air, "Nice try boy," the clone mocked, sarcasm almost dripping off of every work, "you almost had me."

Kai just smirked as he formed a hand seal and released a small surge of chakra, saying, "_Jibaku__Fuda__Kassei_," which caused the small exploding tags he had attached to the shuriken to detonate. They weren't very powerful bombs, since the tags had to be small to keep them from affecting the shuriken's flight, but they were easily enough to blow a person's hand off, which is exactly what happened.

The clone seemed slightly shocked when he saw that his right hand was now missing, but merely shrugged and reformed from the water it was made of. "If you had been a normal person," Kai laughed, "That would have worked perfectly; oh well, time for plan two." Kai once again drew out a few shuriken and once again modified as he ran directly at the clone before launching them at his opponent.

"Hm," the clone scoffed as he leapt into the air dodging the incoming shuriken and shifting his weight so that he could attack the charging Genin, "I'm not falling for that again." Kai merely raised his hands up in front of him, causing the shuriken to follow the chakra strings he had attached to them and immediately change course to travel upward, chasing the dodging Nin-clone.

The clone was left completely vulnerable as the shuriken tore through its water body, doing little more than causing it to leak a little before Zabuza reinforced the Jutsu and re-solidified the clone. By the time that had been done however, Kai was in mid-air, right in front of the clone, and began delivering a series of punches and kicks, leaving the defenseless clone stunned. That didn't last long however, because the clone soon took advantage of its size and delivered a kick to Kai's side that sent him flying away from his opponent before he skidded to a stop several feet away.

Chuckling softly, Kai rose to his feet again, "Well, that didn't go as well as I had hoped."

"Stupid boy," the Zabuza clones sneered as it landed several yards away from Kai, "there is no way that you can be a ninja. The only way anyone can be a ninja is if they find their way into the pages of my bingo book. You can only be considered a ninja if you have killed, then and only then will you be worthy of that title and that hitai-ate." The clone began to charge forward to finish off Kai when he heard a voice from off to the side, on the opposite side of the real Zabuza, "_Fuma__ Shuriken: __Kage__Fusha__!"_

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Zabuza looked over in time to see Sasuke throwing a Fuma Shuriken toward his clone. Then both the clone and the original Zabuza realized, no, not at the clone, at Zabuza himself.

Zabuza merely chuckled, "So, they want to play do they?" then, he simply reached up and caught the shuriken as it approached him. Then, he noticed a second shuriken flying at him; it had been hidden behind the approach of the first. Still smiling, Zabuza simply waited till the last second and hopped into the air, still keeping contact with the water prison and let the shuriken fly harmlessly past him before beginning to turn his attention back to his clone's fight.

Then, Zabuza heard a small poof behind him and turned in time to see Naruto throwing a kunai directly at Zabuza. The man had two choices: he could dodge the kunai and release Kakashi, or he could get his square in the back with a kunai thrown by a lowly Genin who hadn't even bloodied his hands yet. It was really no choice; there was no way that Zabuza would let himself take that shame. Jerking to the side, Zabuza moved out of the way of the kunai and the water Jutsu collapsed, but the enraged Nin wasn't paying attention to that. He sent some chakra into the Fuma Shuriken that he was still holding, causing it to spin around the hole in the middle where his hand rested before he started making his way over to the orange clad Genin who was now floating in the water of the lake.

"So," Zabuza said menacingly, "you want to be a ninja do you? Then you can die as one!"

Zabuza made his way over to where Naruto was standing and was about to sweep down with the spiraling blade when it was blocked by the metal plate on the back of Kakashi's glove. "I'm afraid I cannot let you harm my students," Kakashi said calmly as he pushed away from Zabuza and stood several yards away from him with Naruto in between them and off to one side. As Naruto slowly began swimming around to Kakashi's side so he could cross behind him and make his way to the shore, the two Jonin began forming hand signs.

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Meanwhile, Kai was not faring so well. It seemed that, like _Kage__Bunshin_, _Mizu__Bunshin_ didn't need the focus of their creators to act on their own. Kai learned this lesson the hard way since he had been receiving the beating of a lifetime even while Zabuza was dealing with the outcome of Naruto and Sasuke's plan.

It seemed that the clone had taken offense to Kai blowing its hand off, and so, was now relentlessly beating him in retribution. With a particularly ruthless punch to the stomach, Kai was dropped to his knees before receiving a double-fisted smash to his back, sending him the rest of the way to the ground. With a groan, Kai quickly found himself being lifted up into the air by his hair. "Useless," the clone glared at him, "you were barely even good for you first assault, much less anything after that."

Kai, defiant to the last, weakly said, "You know that if you had been a real Nin, instead of a clone, that my first attack would have taken you out," and smiled slightly until the clone used his other hand to pummel Kai's midsection.

Kai knew that he had several broken ribs, not to mention one of his arms seemed to be bent strangely, but he was beyond that now. The pain just didn't register with him anymore. He was completely unable to feel what was happening to him beyond the initial shock as another bone cracked or snapped. "Your done," the clone said, pulling its hand back to grasp his cleaver and pull it free before throwing Kai directly up into the air and preparing to slice him in half as he fell back down.

Then, as Kai watched, falling through the air, the blade that had once been swinging toward him was suddenly stopped by a Kunai being held by a straining Genin dressed in blue.

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Sasuke didn't know what he had been thinking. That was it, he hadn't been thinking. He only saw Kai, the new Genin with very little apparent skill who had probably saved his life when he had distracted the cloaked ninja the day before, in imminent danger and decided that he had to help him. But now he was in trouble too, simply because he was having to put his entire body behind holding this sword in place with his kunai that seemed terribly pathetic in comparison.

Kai had fallen to the ground and was struggling to push himself up with his left hand, his right seemed to be bending at an awkward angle at his wrist, and he was only barely making headway. Sasuke couldn't worry about him however, since the clone was increasing the pressure he was exerting on his sword, trying to push Sasuke back.

Kai had finally managed to bring himself into a sitting position and immediately started forming his remaining chakra into a _Shosen__ no Jutsu _to start treating his injuries and resetting his broken bones. Sasuke, seeing this, redoubled his efforts to hold off the clone until Kai was able to move. Then, just as Kai started to stand up, having set and partially mended his broken bones, the clone suddenly reversed its stroke, causing Sasuke to stumble forward, and leaving him open for a sharp blow to the back of his neck from the clone's free hand.

Kai tried to quickly jump to his feet to help Sasuke, but he was still weak from his injuries and only managed to fall to his knees again. The clone just laughed, "Your too weak to help him, and now you get to watch as he dies," the clone then lifted his sword up with both hands while the tip was poised over Sasuke's prone form.

Time seemed to slow down for Kai. He saw the murderous intent written on the face of the Zabuza clone and forced himself to his feet in an effort to save his teammate. Just as the clone started bringing his sword down, Kai launched himself at the clone, who was too focused on Sasuke to notice and was knocked to the side just in time to keep the huge sword from impaling Sasuke. Instead, the blade was driven half-way down into the ground next to Sasuke's head which caused the still conscious Genin to flinch as he heard the sound of metal sliding through dirt so close to him.

"You just don't know when to stop, do you?" the clone said, throwing Kai aside as it rose to its feet again, "you should have quit while you were alive." The clone began approaching Kai once again while the Genin struggled to his feet again. Just as the clone reached him, Kai pulled out a kunai he had been hiding while he crouched over and used it to slice through the clone's stomach. However, instead of the clone dissolving like Kai had expected, the cut emitted a surge of water for a few seconds before sealing up again.

"Huh?" Kai said as the clone kicked him in the stomach again and sent him flying through the air. Zabuza had infused so much chakra into the Jutsu that it didn't dissolve after one hit like regular clones, which just made it more dangerous. This fight was turning out to be much more deadly than Kai had originally thought.

Kai once again struggled to his feet just as the clone approached and managed to jump back without falling again as the clone attacked again, "You cannot avoid me forever in your condition boy."

"Well," Sasuke said from behind the clone, "he may not have to." The clone tuned, slightly shocked in time to see Sasuke finishing his Jutsu, "_Katon__Gokakyu__ no Jutsu_!" sending a huge fireball right toward the clone, who tried to dodge by jumping into the air.

Kai, quickly rolling out of the way so he wouldn't get scorched by the giant fireball, quickly drew up the last of his chakra and formed his own hand seals, "_Katon__Karyu__Endan__!"_ which sent a stream of white hot fire flying up to incinerate the clone, dissolving it completely. Kai collapsed as Sasuke ran over to help him, "Thanks Sasuke," Kai gasped as his teammate lifted him to his feet before offering his shoulder for Kai to lean on.

"Not a problem Kai," Sasuke smirked, "I figured I owed you my life after that battle yesterday, I couldn't have kept that fight up much longer, and besides, Kakashi-sensei would lecture my ear off if I let anything happen to you when there was anything I could have done to prevent it."

Kai just laughed, "Still, thanks. I would definitely have been dead after that; who knew that clones could be so sensitive."

The two Genin laughed before Sasuke looked over his free shoulder and said, "Hold on!" before picking up the injured Kai and leaping into a nearby tree. Before Kai could ask what was going on, the tree they were in shuddered as a huge wave broke against it, carrying Zabuza ahead of it until he smashed into a tree off to their left.

Once the water cleared, Sasuke once again picked up Kai before jumping back down to the sodden ground. Kakashi soon walked up to them, looking them over, "Are you two alright?" They nodded, then he nodded and continued to walk over to Zabuza.

Zabuza cringed as Kakashi approached him, very clearly freaked out, "Who are you? Can you see the future?" The once mighty missing Nin was now doing his very best to press himself into the tree behind him in a vain attempt to escape.

"Yes," Kakashi said in a stern voice, "and your future is death!" Just as Kakashi moved to lunge in and bury his kunai in Zabuza's chest a slight blur caught the Jonin's eye and he stopped in time to see a pair of senbon needles stick into the back of Zabuza's neck, killing him.

"I would like to thank you for aiding in the death of Momochi Zabuza," a hunter Nin appeared in a white blur. The new figure was wearing a blue-grey kimono with white trim and a black sash. If the mask was anything to go by, they were from Kirigakure.

Kakashi seemed slightly taken aback, but quickly recovered and said, "Your welcome Hunter Nin."

"I don't want to seem rude," the Nin said, "but I need to dispose of the body."

"Please, don't let us get in the way of your job," Kakashi said, lowering his hitai-ate again to cover his eye.

"Thank you again," the hunter Nin said as they walked over to the body and picked it up, draping Zabuza's corpse over their shoulder as they crouched before forming a one handed seal and disappearing in a swirl of mist.

There was something about the situation that was nagging at Kai. Something wasn't right, but he couldn't put his finger on it. "Kakashi-sensei," Kai called out.

Kakashi turned around, "What is it Kai?"

"Uh…" Kai said, now something else was wrong, his chakra was completely gone. Kai groaned, unable to even start his question as he slumped completely against Sasuke's shoulder, and he remembered nothing more.

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AN: There is Chapter 9. I hope no one is overly upset that I had Zabuza and Kakashi fight off screen, but I figured that it would be just like Kakashi and Hito's battle in the first chapter, which, to be completely honest, was inspired by the Kakashi-Zabuza battle. Not that anyone hadn't figured that out yet I'm sure.

Jutsu List:

_Ninpou__Kirigakure__ no Jutsu_Ninja Art: Hidden Mist Jutsu

_Mizu__Bunshin_: Water Clone

_Suir__o__ no Jutsu:_ Water Prison Technique

_Kage__Bunshin__ no __Jutsu:_ Shadow Clone Technique

_Fuma__ Shuriken: __Kage__Fusha_: Demon Wind Shuriken: Shadow Windmill

_Shosen__ no Jutsu:_ Mystical Palm Technique

_Katon__Gokakyu__ no Jutsu_: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Katon__Karyu__Endan_: Fire Style: Dragon Flame Missile

_Jibaku__Fuda__Kassei_Exploding Tag: Activate

Next chapter will continue through the Wave Arc, possibly to the end of it all, and it will feature one of the parts of the story that I have been planning for a while. Please remember to review.


	10. Chapter 10

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Chapter 10

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Disclaimer: I had a dream that I dreamt that I got a chance to win a ticket that would let me get into an auction to buy the rights for Naruto, but when I woke up, I still didn't.

AN: Here is Chapter 10, guaranteed action in this chapter, but I won't say any more than that.

WARNING: This chapter is bloody, but seriously, you can't fight with pointy weapons and not get any blood.

--

Kai groaned as he sat up, every one of his muscles aching in protest at his movement. Groggily shaking his head, Kai looked around, noticing he was in a relatively plain room, lying in a sleeping bag on the floor, with a few more lying next to his. A quick look around the room showed that other than the sleeping bags, there was nothing but a few doors and a window revealing the dying light of a setting sun. Not sensing any other people anywhere around him, Kai unzipped the sleeping bag and struggled to his feet.

The first thing he did, after finally gaining his feet and balance, was locate the nearest bathroom, which turned out to be through one of two doors he had noticed. Once he had finished his necessary business, he looked himself over, and was surprised to find that, other than the sorry state of his tattered and filthy clothing and his extremely sore muscles, he was in fairly good condition, with only a few small bruises to show that he had been in a disastrous fight recently. Or at least, he thought it was recently. The only way he could have healed as much as he had would be if he had been unconscious for a long time, or someone had used medical Jutsu to help him along.

Either way, Kai knew that he needed to get some answers, so, after removing his ninja tools, Kai quickly changed into a fresh outfit from his pack, which he found next to the wall across from the one door he hadn't opened yet. Once he had situated his clothing and replaced his weapons, Kai made his way over to the unopened door. Kai knew that there was no way that Kakashi or Naruto would have left him in a dangerous place, but either way, he didn't want to be too oblivious to potential danger, so he slowly eased the door open, trying to avoid any unnecessary creaking that would betray him to a potential listener.

Once the door was open wide enough for him to slip through, Kai edged himself out into the hallway beyond and, just as slowly, eased the door shut again before turning to look down the hall. He could easily hear the sounds of movement down a set of stairs at the end of the hall, accompanied by the occasional clang of a pot or pan, but other than that, nothing. Slowly, moving in a walking-crouch close to the wall, Kai inched his way forward toward the stairs, listening for any sign that he had been detected.

Once he reached the top of the stairs, the delicious smell of some kind of food drifted up to him, causing his stomach to growl loudly, which made Kai freeze, sure that whoever was below had heard him. When he had remained motionless for nearly a full minute with no response from below, he slowly let out the breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, and started to inch his way down the stairs.

By the time he got halfway down, the delicious aroma had increased in intensity, which caused his stomach to once again let him know how terribly empty it was. Kai decided that he had to have been out for a few days for him to be this hungry, but finding out would have to wait. Continuing his slow trek down the stairs, praying that his stomach would not give him away, Kai's senses were all on full alert, trying to detect anyone or anything that would help explain his situation.

Then, just as he got to the bottom of the steps, he heard a voice, "Man, I'm starving!" It was Naruto! Kai slowly stood the rest of the way up, his legs once again protesting at his change in position; if Naruto was here then there couldn't be any threat.

Then, just as Kai was about to take the last few steps down and join his teammate, a small boy dressed in a white shirt underneath green overalls with a blue and white hat suddenly turned the corner and spotted Kai. Now the boy could have done several things in this situation: he could have simply walked past Kai and up the stairs, he could have turned around, or he could have done what he did. He shouted, "Hey!"

Kai, caught completely off guard by the boy and his sudden reaction, was caught with his foot halfway down to the next step, and so easily lost his balance and fell face first onto the hard, unforgiving floor next to the shocked boy. Immediately, hands were pulling on Kai's arms as he was hoisted back to his feet, once again with an accompanying complaint from his sore body, and looked into the faces of Naruto and Sasuke, both of whom were smiling, or smirking, mischievously.

"Come on now Oni-san," Naruto laughed once Kai had regained his balance again, "surely you aren't that badly disoriented."

"Yeah," Sasuke said, his smirk growing wider still, "you were only out for four days."

Kai paused for a moment before what Sasuke had said fully sunk in, "Four days! How was I asleep for four days?"

Naruto clamped his hands over his ears while Sasuke flinched and said, "Easy Kai. You were unconscious for four days because Kakashi-sensei kept you that way so you could heal completely before beginning training again."

"Huh?" Kai said in a much more bearable tone.

Naruto sighed, "Maybe he kept you under for too long… He was using medical Jutsu on you daily to finish what you started with your Jutsu during the fight, but he had to take it slowly

so he wouldn't overload your body. You can only safely force your body to heal so much you know. So he kept you in a Jutsu induced sleep until you were fully healed, except for a few bruises that weren't deep enough to cause you any real trouble."

Kai grimaced and said, "Yeah, that and he left my muscles sore enough that I can barely move."

"Well as fascinating as it is to just stand here and talk about you," Naruto said with a look that told Kai he wasn't trying to insult him, "but I for one would like to get back to the wonderful food that Tsunami cooked for us, what about you Sasuke?"

At the mention of food Kai's stomach once again let out a protest, which caused Sasuke to laugh lightly at Kai's blush before nodding, "I definitely agree, and it seems Kai's opinion has made itself known as well." With that said, the three Genin walked around the corner and into the simple kitchen/dining area that the rest of Squad 7 was in. When the kitchen table came into sight, Kai immediately recognized his team and Tazuna, but also noticed a woman with dark, shoulder length hair and a pink top with a dark blue, knee length skirt on, who he assumed must be the Tsunami person that Naruto mentioned. The boy, after a short pause, decided to run around them and jump into a seat next to Tazuna, whatever it was that had brought him over to the stairs forgotten in the excitement.

"It's good to see you up and about again Kai," Kakashi said when the boys returned and Naruto pointed Kai to an empty chair, "but I must say I had expected you to sleep for a while longer."

"Why is that Kakashi-sensei," Kai said as he settled into a comfortable position with a groan and watched while Tsunami put a bowl of some kind of soup in front of him, which he immediately, but without forgetting to be polite, dug into.

Kakashi just laughed, "Because of all the groaning Naruto has been doing every night before he went to sleep. He complains every night about how hard the training for the day has been, and I assumed that you would stay knocked out longer to avoid it." Everyone but Naruto laughed, and Kai kept himself to a light chuckle while Sasuke only smirked. Kai had noticed a change in the broody Genin since the battle with the first too assassins. He seemed to be softening somewhat, almost like he may want to try to be Kai's friend, but Kai wasn't going to count his chickens before they hatched. He would simply have to wait until Sasuke was ready to open up, and then maybe there would be a chance.

Over dinner, Kai learned that the group had arrived at their current location, which was Tazuna's house, a few hours after Zabuza was taken away. He got a confirmation on his guess that the woman's name was Tsunami and that she was Tazuna's daughter, while the boy's name was Inari, Tazuna's grandson. There was a slight air of happiness and elation in this room, mostly coming from Tazuna and Tsunami, while Inari seemed slightly torn on something, but he didn't ruin the mood for everyone else.

When the subject of Zabuza came up, Kai suddenly remembered what he had been about to ask when he passed out," Kakashi-sensei, aren't hunter Nin supposed to destroy their target's body on sight and just take the head?"

Kakashi sighed, "Yes Kai; that is the standard protocol for hunter Nin. And yes, this probably means that the hunter Nin we saw is working with Zabuza, so we can probably assume that he is still alive."

"So what are we going to do?" Kai asked when Kakashi paused.

"We actually discussed this while you were unconscious Oni-san," Naruto said, "We are just going to have to make sure that there is always at least one of us on the bridge while Tazuna is working. That way, when he shows up, we will be ready."

"And judging by the amount of damage that I inflicted on him in our battle, and the amount of rest I am going to need to fully recover from it, he should be ready to go in around one week, which leaves us about three days left," Kakashi finished, leaving the room in an uncomfortably tense silence.

"No worries," Sasuke said breaking the unease, "this time, we can be prepared for him. This time, we can finish him off."

Kakashi smiled, "If that is what it takes, then yes, we can. I believe that Zabuza is merely a pawn in this whole business. He was probably hired to do a job by Gato. Missing Nin tend to be cheaper than commissioning a village, and there is always the lack of support for the hired ninja should something happen to them, so someone like Gato could double-cross them and not have to worry about any consequences. In fact, he would probably just collect the bounties on them and come out of the deal even further ahead." The room once again settled into quiet, but this one was just from everyone absorbing this new information.

Sakura broke the silence this time, "Kai, what was it that you did to that Zabuza clone? It looked like you were winning for a while."

Kai scratched the back of his head, a nervous habit he had gotten from Naruto, and said, "I was actually outclassed the entire time, and we all knew it," Sasuke and Naruto nodded sadly, "there was no way that any of us besides Kakashi-sensei could have taken on even a clone of Zabuza and survived at that time, but my job was just to keep him away from Naruto and Sasuke. As for what I did, I just attached some of my smallest exploding tags to some shuriken, and when he caught them, I detonated them."

"So your training with the Hokage is going well then?" Kakashi asked, his one eyebrow lifted to emphasize his question.

Kai nodded and pushed his now empty soup bowl away from him, thanking Tsunami when he came and collected it. When he looked back up, he found the gaze of all three of his

teammates on him, almost as if they were begging for details. Kai sighed and looked at Kakashi, "I am going to take them upstairs Kakashi-sensei, I think it is time."

Kakashi nodded, "Alright Kai, just don't take too long. I am sure that you are still tired, and you will be joining us for training tomorrow. You will need all the rest you can get." Kai nodded and, after thanking Tsunami for the meal, gestured for his teammates to follow him back upstairs. Naruto followed without hesitation while Sasuke only looked once at Kakashi, who nodded, before getting up himself, and Sakura, fan girl that she still was, got up immediately after Sasuke.

Once the four Genin had left the room, Tazuna turned to the Jonin and said, "What was that all about? What is it time for?"

Kakashi smiled, "Kai has an interesting past. He somehow ended up in the hands of a crazed man who tried to possess his body. In doing so, Kai's memories were lost, so he doesn't know anything about who he used to be or where he came from. Other than Naruto, the Hokage, and me, no one knows the entirety of Kai's recent history. He expressed a concern to me recently about keeping this from his teammates, and he has now decided to share everything with them, I just hope it goes well."

With a grunt and a nod, Tazuna turned back to his sake, slowly digesting this new information about his protectors. He wasn't sure how to take this new information. One on hand, it would be a great emotional burden lifted from the shoulders of one of his young protectors, but on the other hand, it could interfere with their teamwork if any of them decided that they couldn't trust Kai because of the mad man's influence.

--

The four Genin walked into the room that Kai had woken up in. Apparently, this room was for the boys while Tsunami and Sakura slept in another room closer to the stairs, but it would serve its purpose for now, as long as Inari didn't decide that he wanted to go to bed early, which when you took his age into account, wasn't likely. Kai pulled his sleeping bag over to the wall underneath the window and folded it over before settling down on it, facing the rest of the room. Sasuke settled directly across from him on his bedding, while Naruto pulled his over to Kai's left, and Sakura pulled Kakashi's over on his right.

"Ok," Kai said once everyone was seated, "I have decided that it is time that you all knew the truth about my past, and why I seem to get so much special attention."

"Really," Sasuke said, his face adopting a thoughtful, but still broody, look.

"The only problem is, I don't know how exactly to begin," Kai said, looking down timidly.

"Well," Sakura said, trying to be helpful, "Why not start with where you're from, your family, your home, things like that. You can build on it from there." Sakura failed to immediately notice Kai's sad face while Naruto silently glared at her.

Kai sighed, already having to fight back despair, "That's just the problem Sakura. I don't know anything about my past."

"What do you mean?" Sakura said, seemingly unable to grasp what he was saying, "You can't just not know where you came from, it doesn't make any sense."

Despair began to well up in Kai and he was forced to choke it down, fighting away a sob as he looked at Sakura with a carefully controlled face, "I don't remember anything from before I came to Konoha. Kakashi-sensei found me on his way back from a mission and saved me from a man named Zanbifushi Hito. Hito was preparing for a complex Jutsu that would transfer his soul into the body of another person, effectively killing the other person and prolonging Hito's life by allowing him to take over the new body. The body he chose was mine, and one of the Jutsu in the sequence he was using allowed him to erase my memories and replace them with his own."

Sakura's face fell and a blush began growing as she realized what she had said, and what it probably made him think about, "Kai, I'm sor…"

Kai shook his head, "It's ok, you didn't know so I can't rightfully hold it against you. Anyway, Kakashi showed up and defeated him before bringing me back to Konoha where I did what I could to start my life again. All I knew about myself was that I couldn't remember any kind of past, but I seemed to have some kind of ninja training. Now, do you remember the day of our Genjutsu review?"

This time Sasuke spoke up, "You collapsed in the middle of the exam and Iruka-sensei had to carry you out. No one was told what happened."

Kai nodded, "Only a few actually were. What happened was that when I tried to release the Genjutsu, I couldn't mold the exact amount of chakra needed to do the job, so I went for an overload. I focused all the chakra that I could, and used that to try and dispel the Jutsu, but it did more than that. I managed to release a very strong seal that Hito had placed on me during his ritual. This seal was what had kept his memories separate from my own. Basically what happened was that my brain was overloaded with information so quickly that I just shut down. When I finally woke up, I had all these memories floating around in my head that weren't mine, but Naruto, Kakashi-sensei, and Iruka-sensei were there to help sort things out."

Sasuke's eyes suddenly widened, "So that is where you learned all those powerful Jutsu, from Hito's memories!"

Kai nodded, "Exactly. I have been sorting through them and re-establishing some order within my own mindscape through a technique that Hito always used to help him every time he

switched bodies. With this method, I have been able to learn dozens of Jutsu, but I couldn't practice them until recently."

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked, speaking up again now that her blush had faded.

"I found some information on seals and sealing Jutsu in Hito's memories, and when I told the Hokage, he offered to teach me about seals. He also allowed me access to the ANBU training grounds so I could practice some of the more powerful Jutsu that couldn't be safely done on the regular training grounds. I don't think anyone else would have liked to have been around the first time I tried using_ Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu,_ I nearly barbequed several of the ANBU in the area, some of which quickly came over and forcefully instructed me on the proper way to perform the Jutsu without nearly blowing up everything around me."

Sasuke nodded, "Kai I owe you an apology."

"For what," Kai questioned, his head tilted to one side.

Sasuke seemed reluctant before he finally said, "I have been somewhat rude to you recently. Even after you helped me against the first assassins, I guess I was jealous about you getting special training instead of me, but now I see that we have more in common than I originally thought. It was hard enough for me when I heard that you and Naruto were getting special treatment from a Jonin before we had even graduated, but hearing about the lessons from the Hokage, well let's just say I have been thinking some rather unkind things about the both of you. For that I apologize."

Kai was slightly shocked, but recovered quickly and said, "It's not a problem Sasuke. Like I said to Sakura, you didn't know the whole story, so I cannot hold it against you."

The room was quiet for a moment before Sakura suddenly started screaming, "Oh Sasuke-kun, you are the greatest. You didn't even have to tell them about that but you still did. You are the nicest guy ever!"

Naruto had clamped his hands over his ears again before saying, "Sakura-chan! Calm down! He's not that great!"

Sasuke smirked and looked at Naruto, but with a hint of mischief in his eyes, "Better than you Dobe."

Naruto caught the look Sasuke gave him and just started laughing. Kai looked perplexed until Sasuke started laughing too, after that, Kai just shook his head and began laughing himself because of how strange this scene was. Sakura was sitting there with a perplexed look on her face while Sasuke and Naruto, once about as opposite as two people could get, were laughing together at some private joke that only they seemed to be able to get.

Sakura, not wanting to be left out, turned to Sasuke and said, "What's so funny Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke's laughter slowly died down before he said, "Nothing Sakura, just a laugh between friends." Kai knew that he had made the right decision in telling his team about Hito. He had successfully, yet unintentionally, removed one of the barriers to their teamwork. Sasuke was jealous of the other two boys, and that kept him from opening up to two potential friends, but now that obstacle had been surmounted. Now if only Kai could find a way to get Sakura to stop obsessing over Sasuke and Naruto to stop chasing Sakura. Oh well, just one miracle at a time would have to do.

--

Sweat was rolling down Kai's face as he stood on the surface of the pond, applying all his focus to keeping himself out of the frigid water. He was standing about ten feet from the shore, his clothes dripping, trying to prevent another fall. It had been two days since Kai had woken up in Tazuna's house, and Kakashi had decided to take his training to the next level after he displayed a near mastery of tree climbing the day before. Since Naruto also showed a certain level of skill with chakra-based tree climbing, he explained the principle to Sasuke and Sakura before leaving them to practice while he began teaching his other two students water-walking.

At first, Kai had believed that this would be exactly like tree climbing, except this time he would be standing on a regular horizontal surface, which would make everything easier, he was wrong. It took several dozen dips into the ice cold pond before Kai could even manage to stand on the water's surface for more than a few seconds. The water wasn't nearly as stable as wood, so Kai actually had to use more chakra in a steady flow to keep himself stable, and that took him entirely out of his comfort zone as far as chakra control went.

His control has been getting better since his first days in the academy, but it wasn't without a huge amount of hard work. He could easily control all low level Jutsu and chakra levels, as well as the highest, but he was still having trouble with any and all mid-level techniques, which Kakashi knew and exploited in his training. If it weren't for the fact that Kai knew that he needed this training, he would have been furious at Kakashi for inflicting what Kai considered to be cruel and unusual torture upon him.

Naruto wasn't faring too much better than Kai, the only difference was that Naruto's problem stemmed from too much chakra to easily manipulate it, but he was still doing better than Kai was. This didn't bother Kai too much though, not at all. This was mostly because he was focusing too hard to think about it, but even if he hadn't been, it still wouldn't have bothered him.

"Alright you two," Kakashi shouted, "time to head back." Kakashi's call had a different effect on the two Genin. Naruto simply opened his eyes and slowly walked back to the shore, only dipping slightly as he got closer and his excitement grew, but he quickly recovered and made it to the shore with only wet feet. Kai on the other hand was completely brought out of his trance by Kakashi, which resulted in him losing his focus, which resulted in him taking another dip that he was sure would leave him encased in an ice cube.

Sputtering loudly, Kai floated back up to the surface and swam to the shore before walking up next to the laughing form of Naruto. "Keep laughing Oni-san," Kai said as he ran his hands through his hair to try and force out some of the excess water, "I'll get you back sooner or later."

Naruto got the point and calmed himself down after a few more seconds before saying, "Come on Kai, don't be so mean."

Kai smiled mischievously and said, "Your right Naruto, I forgive you," and quickly dashed in to envelop Naruto in a tight hug, still dripping wet.

"Ahh," Naruto exclaimed when Kai stepped back from him and the air hit his now wet skin, "that's cold!" Naruto immediately began running in circles, trying to warm himself up, while Kai took his turn at a laugh, he had gotten used to the cold long before.

Kakashi merely smiled at the two Genin's antics, he remembered when he was like that during his Genin days. Ah, sweet memories, but there wasn't time for that now, "Alright Kai," Kakashi said in his usual drawl, "that's enough. You got your revenge; now dry him off again so we can head over to Sasuke and Sakura so we can tell them it's time to head back."

"Hai Kakashi-sensei," Kai said as he turned to back to Naruto before forming a few hand-signs, "_Futon: Daitoppa,"_ and began issuing a limited stream of chakra into the Jutsu, which formed a heavy wind, instead of a huge hurricane-like wind as the Jutsu normally would have done.

Naruto squeaked when the wind first hit him, since he was still wet, and therefore the wind only made him cold, but he still dried out fairly quickly once he began holding himself in one spot with his chakra. "Thanks Oni-san," Naruto said once Kai broke the Jutsu off, "I guess I deserved that, but couldn't you have used a warmer wind?"

"I could hit you with a Katon Jutsu if you're really that cold…" Kai teased and had to stifle another laugh when Naruto's eyes shot open.

"No, that's ok," Naruto said hurriedly, "I'll just warm up the old fashioned way." Kai turned away and started walking toward Kakashi in order to hide his face from Naruto. Kakashi just rolled his eyes and began walking back to the clearing where Sasuke and Sakura had been practicing their tree climbing with his two students following close behind.

--

When the three Nin arrived at the clearing where they had left the other two Genin, they found Sasuke still climbing his tree, each time getting a little higher and making a slash across the tree trunk with a kunai, while Sakura merely sat in her tree on a branch higher up than Sasuke had gotten yet and occasionally shouted encouragement at him. When Sasuke saw his three teammates approaching he slumped slightly, taking a short break as they approached, while Sakura stood up on her branch before jumping down and walking over to him.

"How'd you do Sasuke?" Naruto asked, smiling.

"Not too bad," Sasuke panted, "You?"

Naruto chuckled, "I have been thoroughly humbled."

Sasuke smirked, "That hard huh?"

"Nah," Naruto said, turning a covert glance toward Kai, "Kai decided that I should share the lake water with him."

Sasuke paused a moment before his smirk grew slightly and chuckled, "A little jealous of the dobe are you Kai?"

Kai and Naruto both glared at Sasuke, shouting, "Hey!" while Sasuke's smirk just grew even wider.

"Calm down you two," Kakashi said, "We're heading back to Tazuna's now. That's enough training for one day."

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, "I would like to stay behind and continue training."

"Why is that Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, lifting his eyebrow as he spoke.

"I need to keep training," Sasuke said, looking back toward the tree he had been climbing and the rows of horizontal slashes he had left in the trunk, "I need to get stronger."

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to be here alone Sasuke," Kakashi cautioned, "Zabuza should be getting back on his feet soon, and we don't know who he will come after first: us or Tazuna."

"I could stay too Kakashi-sensei," Kai spoke up, "I still have plenty of chakra left, so I might as well keep working on my control, and I could even give him some pointers if he needs it."

"I can stay behind too," Naruto said once Kai had finished, "Kai might need a sparing partner, and it is important to have someone here who won't be training as hard so that we can all get back safely."

Kakashi looked over at Sakura, who just shrugged, before turning back to the three boys, "Alright you three, just be back by Midnight, tomorrow we will have to start devoting more time to protecting Tazuna; Zabuza will be back on his feet soon, and we will all need our rest."

"Hai," the three Genin said before Kakashi and Sakura turned and began walking back toward the village.

"Alright guys," Naruto said once the other two ninja had gotten out of ear shot, "Let's get training!"

--

The rest of the afternoon and evening had gone by very quickly for Kai. The training session had gone very similarly to ones that he and Naruto had had before they were placed on Squad 7, with the single exception of Sasuke being there as well. Naruto and Kai had had one of their _Kage Bunshin_ melees while Sasuke continued trying to climb to the top of his tree before taking a break on one of the higher branches to watch. Once the melee was down to a few clones on each side, Naruto and Kai dispelled them and just settled for an old fashioned spar.

Sasuke eventually made it up to the top of his tree just as darkness began to fall, and decided to join in with Naruto and Kai sparing match, making it a three-way fight with no set allegiances. Each person found themselves on the wrong side of the other two people more than once, but they all got a good workout out of the deal and arrived back at Tazuna's house around midnight supporting each other as they walked through town.

When they walked through the door, they found Kakashi and Sakura sitting at the table with Tazuna and Tsunami, Tazuna drinking his ever present sake while the other three were having tea. "What happened to you three?" Kakashi asked while Sakura held back a screech when she saw the condition Sasuke was in.

"I made it to the top of the tree," Sasuke said, smirking, "and Naruto and Kai had a _Kage Bunshin _brawl."

Sasuke paused to catch his breath, just walking through the village had taken a lot out of the three Genin, but Kai picked up where he had left off, "After that we had a three person spar until we were nearly ready to collapse, then we came back here."

Sakura was on the edge of her seat, straining toward Sasuke while trying to look as normal as possible. Kakashi, seeing this, said, "Sakura, why don't you help the boys upstairs to their room. They probably need to get to bed as soon as possible if they are going to help us with guard duty tomorrow."

Sakura, not needing any convincing, immediately sprung to her feet and dashed over to the three boys, before taking immediate possession of Sasuke and helping him walk back to the stairs, leaving Kai and Naruto to half stumble before catching themselves on the doorframe. "Sakura-chan," Naruto cried, "what about us!"

Sakura turned back to the two boys and shrugged, "Well come on, I can only support one person at a time, and Sasuke-kun seemed to be the worst off, so you two will have to make do with me just getting the door for you." Kakashi's eyebrow lifted while Kai just sighed and started stumbling toward the stairs, using the wall for support the entire way. Naruto, after

whining for a few more seconds, followed Kai, while Sakura, seeing that they were following her, continued to help Sasuke up the stairs.

After ten agonizing minutes, during which Kai's muscles complained with a fury similar to that which he had woken up to just days earlier, the exhausted Genin collapsed onto his sleeping bag and slowly struggled his way inside. In the meantime, Sakura was humming pleasantly as she completely ignored her other two teammates while tucking Sasuke into his own sleeping bag with an eye for detail that made Sasuke roll his eyes, when she wasn't looking of course.

By the time Sakura had pronounced Sasuke fully prepared for bed, Kai and Naruto had already situated themselves, not without difficulty, in their sleeping bags, which Sakura noted before saying, "See, you two didn't need help like Sasuke-kun did," and marching out of the room, presumable to return to her tea.

As soon as her footsteps faded down to the floor below Kai started chuckling, "You've got a problem there Sasuke."

Naruto just humphed while Sasuke groaned, "No kidding, stupid fan girl."

"Well at least you've got her," Naruto said grumpily before turning on his side so he was facing away from the other two Genin. Kai looked over at Sasuke and rolled his eyes. Sasuke smirked and nodded; he too had noticed the covert glances that Hinata always sent toward Naruto. He too had noticed the less-than-hidden Kunoichi as she watched Naruto during all of their break periods. It really seemed that the only one who didn't know about her obsession with Naruto was Naruto himself.

As the three Genin began drifting off to sleep, Sasuke felt his mind wandering. Naruto wasn't the only one who was oblivious to the attention he had been receiving from one of their female classmates. Kai had attracted himself an admirer as well; although, this girl was much better at hiding her attraction than Hinata could have dreamed. Sasuke had seen the signs however, mostly the distinctive lack of enthusiasm that the overly-enthusiastic blonde had been showing toward him lately.

--

Kai winced as his muscles screamed in pain. He needed to stop running, but he didn't have much time. If he didn't get to the bridge soon, something bad may end up happening. Zabuza and that hunter Nin were at the bridge, he knew that much for certain, and he knew that his team needed his help right away.

Kai felt his reserves starting to wear thin as his run through the thick morning mist continued, but then he saw the end of the bridge coming into view and reached deep down to find one last reserve of energy and use it to burst back to full speed, arriving on the scene of a battle that had recently taken place on the bridge. There were puddles of water everywhere, but

most of them were concentrated around one particular area, an area that had a form lying motionless in the middle of it all. Sasuke!

Kai dashed over to find that the broody Genin had been turned into a pincushion by some unknown foe, probably that hunter Nin since they used senbon needles. Kai then heard the sound of birds chirping, a lot of birds chirping. The Genin turned to see Naruto staring over at Kakashi who was holding a visible source of chakra in his hands.

Kakashi was looking over towards a figure that Kai identified as Zabuza, who was being held in place by a group of dogs. Then, just as Kai started to move again, Kakashi began dashing toward Zabuza, "Now you get the honor of experiencing my one and only original technique, _Raikiri!" _Kakashi then thrust his arm forward, attempting to impale it into Zabuza, but was stopped short as the hunter Nin appeared in front of the other Jonin, and took the hit for him, causing Zabuza to be showered in a spray of the hunter Nin's blood as Kakashi's arm burst out of their back.

Kai moved forward again to stand by Naruto, who was a few yards away from Kakashi, when he heard clapping. Looking around for the source, Kai eventually settled his gaze on a short man wearing a suit and sunglasses. "Looks like the Demon of the Mist isn't all he was cracked up to be. Oh well, it just saves me the effort."

"What are you talking about Gato!" Zabuza shouted, seemingly in slight shock at his partner's death and the subsequent arrival of his employer.

"Well I was just going to have these mercenaries here kill you and the boy once you were weakened by the battle. That way I wouldn't have to pay your extremely high price tag for your services, but I see that this other Nin is doing that for me, it seems he already took out that useless boy."

"You mean you were just using us!" Zabuza shouted back, breaking free from the grasp of the Nin dogs and slowly stalking toward Gato, "Haku died in your service, and all you can do is disgrace his memory! You make me sick!"

"Oh please," Gato said, waving his hand like their conversation was nothing of importance, "I wasn't going to pay you anyway. I have learned that no one will miss a missing Nin, so you can hire them for any mercenary work you want, and then dispose of them without paying. I get the job done, and save myself some money, I win twice." Gato chuckled darkly at his own joke while Zabuza's sneer darkened before he charged at the fat businessman, his harms dangling uselessly at his sides.

Gato immediately paled and hurriedly took several steps back so he was a few ranks back in his army of mercenaries, "You cannot get me here Zabuza," he taunted, but his laughter quickly turned to screams of horror as the enraged missing Nin tore through the mercenaries between himself and the fat man. Gato grunted as Zabuza rammed into him and half pushed, half carried the man through the rest of the mercenaries. The hired weapons saw their payday being carried off and decided that the best way to stop him would be to impale the Jonin with their

weapons. The end result was that when Zabuza burst from the back side of the crowd, still running at full speed, he had several spears and a few swords and daggers sticking out of his back and sides.

Just as Zabuza reached the edge of the bridge, he stumbled and both men fell down on the very edge of the unfinished project. "Please," Gato pleaded, "I'll give you anything you want: money, women, anything! Just don't kill me!"

Zabuza, however, was beyond reason at this point and simply said, "You shouldn't have mocked the Demon of the Mist Gato, because now you'll get to meet a real demon, in Hell!" With that said, Zabuza used the last of his strength to tackle the pleading fat man and the two of them fell to their deaths in the choppy water below.

Meanwhile, the mercenaries saw Gato fall off the bridge and looked at each other, "What do we do now?" one said.

"Well," said another who stepped up to the front of the group, "we aren't going to get paid by Gato, so why don't we just take what we want from the village!"

Various cries of assent were heard from the crowd of mercenaries as they all advanced on the ninja still standing by the body of the fallen Haku.

"This," Kakashi said as he struggled back to his feet and pulled out a kunai, "is not good."

--

Kai woke up in a cold sweat and looked around to find himself still in his room at Tazuna's home. That had felt so real, too real. It must have been another vision of the future. Kai struggled to his feet and looked around a little more, there was no-one else in the room with him, and he was still in his battered outfit from his training the night before. Kai looked over at the door leading out and saw a note sticking to it. Walking over, Kai pulled it form the door and read it:

_Kai, we are going on ahead to the bridge. We tried to wake you up, but couldn't. Just get to the bridge as soon as you can._

_Kakashi_

"Shit," Kai cursed as he ran over to his back and pulled out his ninja tools. After restocking his personal supplies, Kai dashed over to the door and started to open it when he heard a crash coming from downstairs.

Logic overtaking his need to hurry, Kai slowly opened the door and crept out in time to see Inari standing at the bottom of the steps shouting, "Hey, let her go right now!"

"Inari no!" Tsunami cried out while two male voices laughed.

"Just what are you going to do about it kid?" one man said.

The other man laughed some more before saying, "Hey Zori, can I cut him?"

Tsunami screamed while the other man said with a slight hint of distaste, "Waraji didn't you get enough cutting done on our way over here?" Kai tensed up from his hidden vantage point at the top of the stairs.

"Aw come on," the now named Waraji said, "the boss said we only needed one hostage to ensure the bridge builder's surrender, so why can't I kill the spare?"

"No leave Inari alone," Tsunami screamed and Kai heard the unmistakable sound of a smack as her scream was sharply cut off with a whimper.

"Shut up bitch!" Zori said. Kai felt that he needed to make an appearance now, before things got too far out of hand. The black-clad Genin walked down the stairs quickly, but silently and placed himself in front of Inari and faced the two men who were staring at the cringing Tsunami. "Hey Waraji," Zori said, neither of them noticing Kai's presence yet, "is their any reason why we can't have a little…fun with her first?"

Waraji laughed darkly as Tsunami's eyes widened even further in terror, "No I don't think the boss forbid it when he gave us our orders this morning, and it might make her easier to handle too."

As the two men reached for the stunned woman, having completely forgotten about Inari, Kai felt his anger grow even further, "I suggest you let her go," Kai said darkly causing all three of the figures standing across the room from him to jerk their head around and look in his direction. Tsunami's eyes were tearing up, although Kai didn't know if it was from fear or relief, while Waraji and Zori just stared.

In the silence, Kai examined the two men. Waraji was standing to Kai's left and was wearing a pair of pants with no shirt on. The man was covered in tattoos and had a katana at his waist on his right side. Zori was to the right and was fully dressed in a light blue jacket and pants with a dark blue hat and a white sash holding his sword on his left side. "Who the hell are you?" Zori demanded.

"Someone who doesn't like what you were planning on doing to Tsunami," Kai sneered, his anger increasing still more when he thought about their plan again.

"Zori," the shirtless brute said, "this is probably one of those ninja that Tazuna hired. He must have been left behind to guard the house while the others fought Zabuza on the bridge. And that tells me that he is the weakest of the lot." Waraji smirked as he reached his left hand down to grasp his katana while his right rested on the sheath, using his thumb to loosen the deadly blade so he could draw it quickly.

"Well," Zori said, copying the other samurai's movements on his sword, "I could use a good workout, other than the one we were planning anyway." Zori laughed darkly while Tsunami's face paled as she shrank back into the corner behind her, scooting a few feet before hitting the wall and curling up.

"Whatever," Waraji said, laughing lightly, "I doubt this boy could even give us a challenge."

Kai's eyes narrowed as he formed a plan in his head, step one: get them out of the house. Kai drew a pair of shuriken out of his hip pouch and quickly attached a few flash tags to them before throwing them at the pair of men. "Huh," Waraji scoffed, "stupid shuriken." The man drew his sword to block the attacks, but Kai formed a quick seal and activated the tags, causing the samurai, whose eyes were both fixed on the projectiles, to cry out in pain as they were temporarily blinded.

Acting quickly, Kai leapt forward and used a chakra-powered kick to send Zori flying through the door that they had demolished when they entered. Waraji, still not able to see, swung wildly when he heard Zori get hit in a vain attempt to hit Kai. The Genin simply dodged and ducked before jumping straight at the wall a few yards behind the samurai before rebounding off the wall and driving his knee into the back of Waraji's skull, which sent him flying forward and through the window, which shattered on impact.

"Stay in here," Kai said to Tsunami who nodded as Inari ran over to her and hugged her close. Kai walked outside and walked away from the house to where the two goons had regrouped a short distance away.

"You bastard!" Waraji shouted, "What did you do?"

Kai shook his head, "You can't be worth what Gato is paying you if you can't even recognize a flash tag."

Waraji bristled, "Why you, I'll show you," and blindly rushed toward where Kai's voice had been the last time he had heard. The only problem was, Kai took a step to his right, putting him at an awkward angle for a sword slice, but the blinded swordsman didn't know that. Shouting wildly in his rage, Waraji was once again wildly swinging his weapon, and just like before, but this time, when Kai dodged, he didn't knock the man down. He didn't have time for that.

As the shirtless swordsman stumbled past Kai, who easily ducked under the clumsy attack, and stood again before driving a kunai into the back of the man's skull. With a shudder, Waraji collapsed in a heap on the ground as Kai coldly turned his glare on Zori, who had recovered enough to see Kai finishing his comrade, but not enough to fight at his full potential. Kai pulled his kunai out of the dead man's head with a sickening sucking sound and cleaned it on the corpse's pants before returning it to its holster.

"Why you," Zori said as he drew his sword and settled into a fighting stance before charging at Kai. This time, Kai knew that he wouldn't catch his enemy off guard, but at least it was just a one-on-one fight now. Zori came in low with a horizontal slice, but Kai jumped into the air and flipped over the swordsman before attempting to plant a kick to his back. Zori, however, was more cautious than his former partner, and managed to sidestep Kai's attack before spinning around and attempting to behead the Genin. Kai ducked and pulled out his kunai again before lunging in at Zori, who merely locked his blade against Kai's kunai, putting them in a deadlocked test of strength.

The outcome of this part of their battle was a foregone conclusion, however, since Zori was much larger than Kai, he was able to use his size as an advantage and quickly throw Kai backwards and off balance. Kai stumbled backwards as Zori shoved him aside before reversing his stroke and bringing the blade back across Kai's body and cutting a shallow gash on the Genin's chest, leaving his shirt and jacked cut open.

"Your not so tough," Zori taunted as he continued delivering a deadly flurry of slices and stabs with his katana. Kai was narrowly dodging the attacks, but he wasn't using his Miraigan, he never had time to focus enough to activate it. After a few minutes of dodging, Kai's already worn clothing was now riddled with slashes and a few blood stains around any particularly large cuts.

"Just give in boy," Zori said, pausing in his onslaught for a moment "your fate was sealed the moment that you spoke up in that house."

Kai jumped away from the man while he ranted and began forming hand seals. "Oh no you don't," Zori said, realizing what the Genin was doing, before he charged in, attempting to stop him.

Kai merely jumped back again, putting himself once again out of Zori's reach as he finished his seals, "_Doton: Yomi Numa!_" and slammed his hands into the ground. Immediately, the chakra that Kai had gathered into his hands was released into the ground which began changing. Starting where Kai's hands hit the ground and stretching over toward the still moving Zori, the ground was turning into muck. As the swamp grew, Zori continued to charge Kai; he knew that if you can take out the source of a Jutsu, you usually end the Jutsu. Kai wasn't going to be caught so easily however, as Zori approached him not staying in one place long enough to sink into the swamp-like earth, Kai once again ducked under the slice and landed a powerful punch into Zori's stomach, causing him to double over and fall to his knees in the swamp.

Grinning in triumph, Kai jumped away again and threw a kunai at Zori's head, hoping to end things quickly so he could get to the bridge and help his team, but the samurai wasn't done yet. Just as the Kunai neared its mark, Zori swung his sword up and deflected the weapon so it landed harmlessly in the muck and sank slowly. Kai grimaced and started forming hand seals again; he needed to finish this soon. Meanwhile, Zori had stabbed his katana into the solid ground just in front of him and was using it as leverage to pull his legs free of the mud, desperately trying to escape before Kai's Jutsu was finished.

Just as Zori's left foot cleared the mud, allowing him to stand on solid ground once again, Kai finished his Jutsu, "_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" Zori grunted as he tried to free his sword from the dirt, but found that it was wedged in too deep. With a growl, the samurai threw himself out of the way of Kai's fireball just before it hit. The fireball hit Zori's sword and incinerated it, leaving only a shapeless lump of metal and ash, before continuing on and hitting Kai's swamp, evaporating the water from the soil and solidifying it again.

Zori was lying on the ground to Kai right, the shockwave had thrown him further than he had planned, and so the samurai was stunned slightly as he struggled back to his feet before turning to face Kai. The effects of using two powerful Jutsu so quickly had hit Kai, so although he still had plenty of chakra left, he was temporarily lightheaded because of the power flow. Shaking his head slightly, Kai sank into a fighting crouch and waited for Zori to make another move.

--

The samurai looked around. He knew he was in trouble. He had never had to fight anything without his sword, and now he was completely defenseless, unless he could get to Waraji's sword which was still lying next to his lifeless body behind Zori and to his right. The only problem was, the ninja would inevitably guess his plan and stop him before he got there, but there was only one way to find out, he had to try.

--

Kai waited warily for Zori to move, and wasn't forced to wait for too long before the man made a quick turn and a mad dash for Waraji's body. It took Kai a moment to realize that the man wasn't running away, he was going for the second sword! Kai cursed and dashed after the man, forming hand seals as he ran.

--

Zori was feeling pretty good. He had seemed to catch the ninja off guard with his sudden dash for the weapon and he was now only a few feet away from his goal. Once he got Waraji's blade, he would be sure not to make the same mistake as before. He had been winning until he paused to taunt the boy, and that had been the turning point. Just as Zori reached down to grasp the hilt of the katana, a poof of smoke enveloped the blade and he found himself holding one of the boy's kunai.

"Quite an impressive weapon," Zori turned and glared at the ninja who was holding Waraji's sword lightly in his right hand before changing his grip and settling into a fighting stance, "let's see how well you fight against it."

--

Kai sighed in relief as his _Kawarimi no Jutsu_ switched the kunai he was holding with the katana that his opponent had been reaching for. "Quite an impressive weapon," Kai said as Zori

turned to him and glared. Kai held the weapon in an uncertain grip for a moment before accessing an untouched part of Hito's memory that Kai had found recently. It seemed that Hito had been quite the accomplished swordsman, and Kai was counting on him being able to use these memories to fight properly with the sword. There was a light buzz in the back of his head when he tapped into the memory, but other than that, nothing. Smiling slightly, Kai brought his left hand over to the sword and shifted his right hand up higher on the handle, "let's see how well you fight against it."

Kai charged at the slightly surprised man who brought up the kunai in an attempt to protect himself as Kai swept the blade sideways. Kai smiled as his sword contacted the kunai Zori was trying to fight with, only for the _Kage Bunshin_ kunai to disappear, allowing the sword to continue, unhindered, into Zori's arm, severing his limb, before continuing a short way into the man's side before it glanced off a rib and Kai pulled his swipe back, freeing the blade from the man's body.

Kai looked up at Zori's face and saw the surprise and pain in his eyes and decided to end the man's suffering. Kai sighed as he took one final swipe with the razor sharp blade and took Zori's head off in a single swipe before he turned and used Waraji's pants to clean his new sword before leaning over and freeing the sword belt and sheath from the dead man's waist and buckling it around his own.

Once Kai had finished adjusting his new acquisition he looked around the area and down at himself. There was blood everywhere. He had a few spots of his own blood combined with a small spray on his left arm from Waraji's skull in addition to a more even spray over the rest of his body from Zori's decapitation. Combine the blood on him with the huge pools of blood around the bodies of the two samurai, and Kai suddenly felt bile rise in the back of his throat. With a huge heave, Kai doubled over and let out the limited contents of his stomach before straightening again and wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He didn't have time for weakness now; he had to get to the bridge.

--

Kai winced as his muscles screamed in pain. He needed to stop running, but he didn't have much time. If he didn't get to the bridge soon, something bad may end up happening. Zabuza and that hunter Nin were at the bridge, he knew that much for certain, and he knew that his team needed his help right away.

So far everything after his battle with the samurai was exactly like his dream, down to the heavy mist covering the area. The only difference was that he now had a sword strapped to his waist, which, although it could prove useful in the end, was only serving to slap against his legs as he leapt through the treetops, making it a constant annoyance.

Kai once again felt like he was about to collapse when he heard the sounds of battle coming from ahead. Reaching down inside himself, Kai found his last reserves of energy and burst forward, bursting out of the cover of the forest and onto the bridge just as the sound of

Kakashi's Nin-dogs reached his ears. Kai saw the signs of battle, as well as Sasuke's motionless body lying on the ground, and fought down his reaction, he had to stop Kakashi.

Then Kai spotted Naruto and followed his line of sight to Kakashi, who was holding the _Raikiri_. Switching his direction while keeping most of his momentum, Kai sprinted toward Kakashi who had just looked up at Zabuza and began his charge. "Now you get the honor of experiencing my one and only original technique, _Raikiri!"_ Kai didn't have much time to act.

Kai quickly drew his sword and threw it ahead of him, causing it to impale the ground in front of Kakashi. Kakashi, seeing this new obstacle, was forced to stop his charge and cancel his Jutsu before looking over at his breathless student, "What are you doing Kai?"

Kai cringed slightly under the ferocious gaze he was receiving from Kakashi with his Sharingan eye uncovered, which only served to enhance his unease. Still panting from his sprint, Kai trudged over to his sword and yanked it out of the ground before re-sheathing it, effectively placing himself between the injured Zabuza and Haku, who had just appeared at his master's side, and Kakashi, "They are not our enemies Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi's eyes widened slightly before he resumed his glare, "And what exactly makes you think that?"

Kai groaned softly as his muscle aches caught up to him again, "You wanted me to tell you when I had another one of my dreams Kakashi-sensei, so that is what I'm doing."

Kakashi straightened slightly and his guard relaxed slightly, "Miraigan?"

Kai nodded and half-turned, gesturing to the injured Nin behind him, "These two were going to be betrayed by Gato once they finished their job. In my vision, You killed Haku with your _Raikiri_ and then Gato showed up and started taunting Zabuza before explaining that he was going to kill them anyway. Zabuza killed Gato, but didn't survive himself. Gato brought an army of mercenaries with him, and before I woke up, they were charging us.

"What are you talking about kid?" Zabuza demanded from behind Kai.

"Kai turned and bowed slightly, "Zabuza-san, your present employer was planning to betray you as soon as you killed Tazuna-san. He felt that no one would care if he killed another missing Nin, and that way, he could get the bounties on your heads at the same time."

Zabuza snorted, "He could try." Haku just tilted his head slightly, pondering what this new boy was saying.

Kai just nodded, "I agree with you Zabuza-san, in your regular state, you could easily defeat Gato and nearly anyone he could bring to bear against you, but right now…"

Zabuza looked down for a moment, still in the clutches of Kakashi's dogs, "I see your point, but what reason do I have to believe you?"

"Give me a moment and I'll show you," Kai said as he formed a few hand seals and began focusing his chakra, "_Kirigakure no Jutsu, Kai!"_ As the mist began to clear, Kai heard Kakashi take a quick breath as the forms of several men came into view, climbing up the side of the bridge, probably from boats on the water below. "There is your proof, Gato's men coming up even as we speak," Kai finished triumphantly.

At the sound of his name, a short, fat man who had climbed up in the first group, with a substantial group of guards of course, turned to find that the heavy mist Zabuza had created was no longer hiding him. The man quickly gestured to his guards who formed a small group behind him that was slowly growing as more and more men climbed up from below. "Well, well," Gato sneered looking at the ninja before him as he walked toward them until there were a few dozen yards between the two groups, "It looks like the Demon of the Mist isn't all he was cracked up to be."

"What are you doing here Gato?" Zabuza demanded.

"I decided that after your first failure, I would come by to make sure you got the job done. But it seems that I get to personally deliver my message to you Zabuza. I regret to inform you that you have been taken off the payroll."

"WHAT!" Zabuza shouted, the combined shock from Gato's statement and what Kai had said moments earlier combining to make him louder than he had intended.

Haku spoke up in a more even voice, "What do you mean Gato-san?"

"I meant just what I said," Gato said leveling a glare upon Haku and Zabuza, "You're fired!" Gato gestured forward and his mercenaries started laughing as they advanced at a walk, clearly not taking this seriously.

"Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, "you must free Zabuza, we will need his help." Kakashi nodded and formed a seal before sending out a pulse of chakra which caused his dogs to disappear.

Zabuza stretched before pulling his head chopper off his back and looking over at Kai as he fingered the hilt of his katana, "Do you know how to use that pokey stick boy?"

Kai smiled as he settled himself into a fighting stance while as the mercenaries approached, "You'll have to see for yourself, won't you?" The four ninja stood side by side as the army of mercenaries approached, each one preparing themselves in the best way they could. Kakashi and Zabuza were both drained of chakra from their fight, while Haku and Kai were only slightly better off since their fights weren't against such formidable adversaries, but still managed to tire them.

Then, Naruto walked up and took a place in the line between Kai and Kakashi, "Don't even think of leaving me out of this," the Genin said, drawing a kunai and taking his stance.

Kakashi and Kai both gave him a small smile before turning their attention back on the approaching horde.

"Guys," Kai said, "I think I'll try to thin their numbers out some before they get here, what do you say?"

"Whatever you can do to help Kai," Kakashi said, fatigue showing in his voice, "I would assume that we're out of your vision's range now, so that puts us all in the black." Kai nodded and reached down to his weapon pouch before pulling out several shuriken.

"Here we go," Kai shouted as he threw the shuriken in a wide spread at the approaching fighters. This seemed to be enough of a sign for everyone since the ninja and their mercenary opponent's immediately broke into a charge, closing the already small gap in between them. Kai remained behind, forming seals, and called out, "_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," _which caused his dozen shuriken to multiply into two dozen, then three. Then, just as the shuriken reached the front line of the mercenaries, Kai formed another hand seal and shouted, "_Bunshin __Daibakuha_," which caused the clone shuriken to explode right in the faces of the mercenaries, sending them flying backwards into their comrades.

The explosion caused hesitation on the part of the mercenaries, which gave the attacking ninja all the delay they needed. Zabuza and Kakashi waded into the crowd of stunned mercenaries, killing their targets with ease that only a Jonin could manage. Haku worked his way into the army at a much slower pace, killing his opponent's with precision hits with his senbon needles, while Naruto merely used his kunai to deflect attacks before disabling his opponents with powerful punches and kicks.

Once Kai's Jutsu were finished, he quickly drew his katana and accessed Hito's memory again. He would really need to learn how to do this himself so he wouldn't have to rely on Hito. Besides, the buzz in the back of his skull when he accessed the skills felt weird. Breaking into the crowd of mercenaries, Kai swung his katana in a graceful arc, beheading one mercenary who hadn't been paying attention.

--

Kakashi was confused. That's all there was too it. First, Kai had shown up and stopped him from killing his opponent, then, the Genin had revealed Gato and his plot to betray said enemy, and now they were all fighting together against Gato's mercenaries. Kakashi was used to circumstances changing during battle, but this was not a change he was enjoying entirely. It was good that he didn't have to kill Zabuza, the man was a shinobi who fought for his own ideals and Kakashi couldn't help but respect him for sticking to it, but now they were all locked in an intense battle for their lives, and two of them were Genin barely out of the academy.

Kakashi ducked under a sweeping strike from a large man carrying an axe and kicked the man in the groin before finishing him with a swipe across his neck from the Nin's kunai. Most of these men didn't seem like they had any experience in fighting anything other than other men like them: too stupid to do more than break things with their big pointy sticks. The few fighters

who seemed like they had some actual skill were slowed down by their incompetent comrades and were therefore easily eliminated before they could do much damage.

Looking around in a temporary quiet, Kakashi located his fellow ninja in the crowd. Naruto was closest to him, slowly working his way deeper into the group of mercenaries who seemed to be having a difficult time hitting him. Any time on of their weapons would approach the orange-clad Genin, it would bounce off a wall of red chakra that emanated from him.

Kai was next, not nearly as far in the group as Naruto was, but that could have something to do with Kai taking his time about killing every man that came within his reach. It was surprising how methodical the seemingly inexperienced Genin was making this all out melee. He would dodge an attack, then counter it with a strike aimed to kill quickly, and if that failed he would repeat the process. It all seemed too easy for the boy, which worried Kakashi.

Past Kai, Kakashi saw Zabuza and Haku, working together like the team they had been for years, leaving a large group of dead men around them either turned to human pincushions or beheaded. They were all getting too far apart. Kakashi needed to do something before it was too late. Jumping slightly to kick another large man, this one with a spear, Kakashi shouted out, "Regroup, don't get too far apart." Hearing his call, Zabuza and Haku started working their way back toward him, while Naruto did the same. Kai however, continued on his bloody path of death, completely ignoring his sensei's order.

--

Another spray of blood coated Kai's face as he sliced open the neck of his opponent. The man's dual swords fell to the ground as the Genin turned to his next opponent, a man wielding an axe that seemed to be far too big for him. He quickly proved this assumption wrong when he easily hefted the thing and brought it into an overhead chop that Kai easily sidestepped before bringing his blade down on his opponent's arms, severing them at the elbow. The man screamed before Kai reversed the stroke and came up to slice his head off, earning another coating of blood, before turning to continue his fight.

Kai had heard Kakashi call out, but saw no reason to comply. There was no way that these fools would be able to compete with his might. Wait… What? Kai ducked under a wild swing from a halberd and countered, disemboweling the man who clutched his stomach before being kicked in the back by Naruto who had fought his way over to his friend.

"Kai," he shouted as he ducked under another attack, "Kakashi-sensei says we need to regroup, let's go."

"You go regroup you fool," Kai said, wait why did he say that?

"Huh," Naruto said stupidly as he planted his foot into the face of his attacker, "What did you say?"

Kai laughed darkly, making chills go up Naruto's spine, he had heard that laugh before, "I said you can go regroup if you want, but I am going to continue decimating these foolish weaklings." With that said, Kai continued wading through the approaching mercenaries, leaving a dumbfounded Naruto to continue making his way back to Kakashi, most fighting on instinct now while his mind processed what Kai had just said.

--

"Kakashi-sensei," Naruto called out as he reached the worn out Jonin, "Kai said he wouldn't regroup. Naruto threw his kunai, causing a man who had been trying to chop his arm off to change his attack path so he could deflect the projectile, which gave Naruto an opening to deliver a punch to the man's stomach before elbowing him in the back of the head, sending him crashing to the ground.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi demanded, trying to find his student in the now much smaller crowd of mercenaries around them, but was unable to see him because of the multitude of fighters gathered around them.

"That's what I asked," Naruto responded, drawing another kunai from his holster and turning to a new enemy, "but he said that he didn't need to regroup." Kakashi's eyes darkened, something was wrong.

--

Kai killed the last of the mercenaries that had been grouped around him and looked around for another target before spotting Gato standing warily beside the edge of the bridge. "So," Kai said with a smirk on his face as he walked away from the corpses he had created, "the leader of the weak fools doesn't even try to fight."

Gato paled as he looked around for someone to defend him. Finding no one near enough to do any good, Gato slowly took a step backwards, bringing himself closer to the edge of the bridge with his eyes fixed on Kai and his bloody katana. "N..now listen to reason," Gato said, "y..y..you don't want to kill me. I can give you anything you want. Money, power, women, anything, just don't kill me!" The fat business man fell to his knees in front of Kai who stood a few feet away.

"You are not only the leader of the fools, but you are the most pathetic of them all." Kai sneered as he drew his sword back to finish the man's life.

Gato saw the ninja's shadow shift and lunged up, pulling on the top of his cane to reveal a hidden dagger which he stabbed into the chest of his assailant. "Remember this ninja, "Gato said with a superior smirk plastered all over his fat face, "I. Never. Lose." Then, much to Gato's surprise, Kai smirked back and was engulfed in a cloud of smoke as Gato found him knife stuck in the headless corpse of one of his mercenaries.

"Fool," Gato heard behind him and released his hold on his knife to spin around in shock to find Kai glaring at him, "you think that such cheap tricks can defeat a ninja of my caliber. You really are too stupid to live."

Kai quickly struck out with his katana and sliced Gato across his stomach, causing the fat man to double over and clutch his wound as blood began seeping through his clothing. Kai then swung his sword again, this time cutting open each of the man's legs across the kneecap, causing him to fall to the ground, crying out in pain. Kai then gave Gato an evil sneer as he slowly drew his katana back for one final attack.

The corrupt businessman looked into the young boy's eyes and screamed; a scream which was ended with a bubbling sound as Kai's sword sliced through Gato's neck.

--

Naruto was in trouble. For that matter, so were Kakashi, Zabuza and Haku. They had been surrounded by the remaining mercenaries, which totaled about thirty men, and had been forced into the middle of their ever shrinking circle.

"What do we do Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked.

"I'm working on it," Kakashi said, looking around quickly, trying to think of some method of attack, "Zabuza, how are you on chakra?"

"Low," Zabuza grunted, "Haku too. We are definitely in trouble." Kakashi silently agreed with the man, but kept his face firm for Naruto's sake as he faced down the mercenaries in front of him. Just then, a terrible scream tore through the air, causing many of the mercenaries to look around. Suddenly, the scream ended with a burble followed by an evil sounding laugh.

"Kai…" Naruto whispered, barely even audible.

"So," Kakashi heard Kai call out in a strangely familiar voice, "which of you fools is next?"

--

Presented with a more dangerous target, the mercenaries all turned and charged toward the lone Genin, which was exactly what Kai had wanted to happen. They quickly formed their circle around Kai and readied their weapons to silence the loud-mouthed Genin.

"Come on you weak fools," Kai shouted, holding his sword up in the air as blood dripped off of him, "just try and kill me!"

The mercenaries, driven into a rage by the death of their paycheck, charged in as one and impaled the Genin's body with their weapons, bringing a gasp from his teammates and caused

Zabuza and Haku's eyes to widen in surprise. Then, just as the men started to pull their weapons back, Kai looked up and started laughing.

Needless to say, the sight of the boy laughing while several dozen weapons protruded from his body was a fairly unnerving sight, but that wasn't the end of their confusion. Kai's body was suddenly engulfed in a cloud of smoke, which cleared to reveal Gato's dead body in the place of the ninjas. But that wasn't what scared them. Gato's body had a very large exploding tag attached to it.

The men heard a laugh from above them and looked to see Kai, straight up in the air, still rising from a chakra powered jump, who shouted, "You fools are dead! _Jibaku Fuda: Kassei!_" Instantly the exploding tag attached to the body of the dead crime lord detonated, sending a shockwave over the bridge that caused everyone standing to fall. Everyone who wasn't caught in the blast that is.

The mercenaries were incinerated; such was the power behind that explosive tag. As Kakashi and Naruto watched, the fireball rose into the air a short distance before it was engulfed by a larger cloud of smoke. The tag wasn't designed to set anything on fire, it was merely just a destructive tag, and as such the fireball quickly vanished and the smoke was easily blown away by the light morning breeze.

When the nearby ninja turned to look again, they saw Kai, standing at the center of a small crater created by the blast from his exploding tag. Naruto quickly took off, running toward his friend, hoping that he was alright. As Naruto neared, he saw Kai shaking slightly with his head down and arms at his side, the sword tightly clutched in his right hand.

"Kai," Naruto said, as he approached, but got no reaction, "Oni-san, are you alright." Kai raised his head and looked at Naruto as if he had never seen him before. Naruto, concerned, grabbed his left arm and said, "Kai, what's wrong?"

Kai suddenly and violently ripped his arm out of Naruto's grasp, sending the Genin off balance and causing him to fall to the ground, looking at Kai with hurt in his eyes. "Who is this Kai person you are talking about?" Kai said as Naruto simply stared at his friend.

Kai looked at himself and the battlefield, both covered in a thick coating of blood, and laughed a deep, dark laugh that sent shivers down Naruto's spine. Once Kai had calmed down he fixed his glare on Naruto again and loudly proclaimed, "I am not Kai, I am Zanbifushi Hito!" before collapsing to the ground in a dead faint.

--

AN: And so ends chapter ten. This is a chapter that I have been planning for a long time and any questions you may have will hopefully be explained in the next chapter, if not, put them in a review and I will answer them to the best of my ability.

Jutsu List:

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Futon: Daitoppa:_ Wind Style: Great Breakthrough

_Kage Bunshin_: Shadow Clone

_Raikiri:_ Lightning Blade

_Doton: Yomi Numa:_ Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld

_Kawarimi no Jutsu:_ Body Replacement Jutsu

_Kirigakure no Jutsu, Kai:_ Hidden Mist Jutsu, Release (sort of BS-ed this one)

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

_Bunshin __Daibakuha:_ Clone Great Explosion

_Jibaku Fuda: Kassei:_ Exploding Tag: Activate

Nice long list this time too. This story is getting more fun by the second, mostly because we are out of the majority of the set up story and into the action, at least for this part of the story anyway. When I originally posted this Fic, it was rated M because I knew that there would be a bloody chapter some time in the future, but I lowered it down to T becuase I hadn't posted it yet. This chapter is that chapter. If anyone thinks that I need to put the rating back up to M, leave a review and let me know.


	11. Chapter 11

22

--

Chapter 11

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

AN: Here is Chapter 11, I hope you enjoy.

--

Kai flew backward from the force of the blow as his assailant attacked once again. The Genin landed on his back a few yards away and felt his breath leave him in a rush before once again struggling to his feet just to be kicked in the stomach, causing him to double over and fall to his knees.

"You cannot win you foolish boy," a sinister voice said, emanating from the darkness all around Kai, "just give up. Surrender yourself to me and avoid more pain."

Kai just sneered in defiance as he rose to his feet again and took a defensive stance only to fall once more when his unseen attacker hit him again. Kai might have been alright if he could actually see something, but as it was, he couldn't see any more than he could manage to stay on his feet. If something didn't happen soon, Kai wouldn't be able to get up any more.

--

Naruto sat beside the hospital bed with Sasuke and Sakura. All three of them were worried about Kai, or at least acted like it. He had been in a coma ever since he collapsed on the bridge and the doctors couldn't figure out what was wrong with him. Naruto had explained to the doctors about Kai's personality changes during his fight with Mizuki and Gato's mercenaries, hoping that it would help, but so far, it had all been useless.

"I can't stand this!" Naruto shouted suddenly, causing Sasuke and Sakura to jump slightly as the silence was interrupted, "I need to help him, but I don't know what to do!"

"Do you think we feel any differently?" Sasuke said quietly, head in his hands, "I just wish that we at least knew what was going on." Squad 7 had been back in Konoha for three days, and Kai had spent all that time, along with the two day trip back from Wave Country, unconscious, with only an occasional moan or restless shifting to show that he was even alive.

"I'm sure everything will be alright Sasuke-kun," Sakura said, placing her hand on Sasuke's shoulder and noticeably brightening when he didn't brush her away.

Kai suddenly cried out slightly before settling back into his sleep-like state. Naruto jumped slightly before sighing, "If only someone could figure out what was wrong."

--

Kai still wasn't faring well. Every time he was hit, it became harder and harder to rise again. He had managed to get a glancing blow on his opponent once, but the hidden figure hadn't done anything more than laugh before knocking the Genin off his feet again.

"Just give up boy," the ever present voice mocked, "you cannot win! Continuing to fight will only increase your own pain and suffering."

Kai grunted as he rose again, "I cannot and will not give up! I have to fulfill my dreams! I have to help my Oni-san with his! I have to succeed!" Kai charged in a random direction and threw his fist out in front of him; miraculously managing to hit his attacker, causing the man, for it was a man's voice that had been speaking to him, to fall to the ground.

"It would seem that there is still some fight left in you after all," the figure said, accompanied by the sound of a person rising to their feet, "I guess I will just have to take it up a notch." Kai's eyes widened when he heard the unmistakable sound of a sword sliding free of its scabbard.

--

"What can we do Hokage-sama," Kakashi said, pacing back and forth in front of the old man's desk, "we need to help him, but how?"

Sarutobi took a few puffs from his pipe before answering the frantic Jonin, "Is he still unchanged?"

Kakashi turned to the Hokage, exasperated, "Yes! I just saw him a few hours ago. His teammates haven't left his bedside since the mission and they said that he is just shifting around and occasionally making noise, but other than that, it's just like he's asleep. Something is wrong with him though, because the doctors told me that his vital signs are very slowly declining. His heart is beating a little slower ever time they check it and it has come to the point where they can only barely tell that he's breathing. Something is going on with him but…"

"It's all in his mind," Sarutobi interrupted, causing the Jonin to stare at him in wonder, "come along Kakashi," Sarutobi rose from his seat before walking around the desk and out his office door, "we need to make a house call." Kakashi stood silent for a moment, before turning and following the elderly ninja out of the room, deep in thought.

--

Kai gasped as he gained another slash on his arm, easily cutting through his sleeve but only leaving a shallow cut that soon began oozing blood. "What's the matter boy," the voice taunted, "where did your fighting spirit from before go?" Kai just sneered. He was trying to extend his senses to detect the swordsman, but every time he got close, the man would just hit him again and break his concentration.

"I told you before," said the voice, "your only choice is to give up. That is the only way to stop your suffering." Kai just grimaced and shook his head wildly, "Very well," the voice said before laughing manically as Kai suddenly found himself on the receiving end of a flurry of slashes, which caused enough pain to send him to his knees once more.

--

"Oh, Hokage-sama, to what do I owe this pleasure?" said a blonde woman when she answered the door after Sarutobi's knock.

"Mrs. Yamanaka," the elderly Hokage said, "I apologize for my rush, but we have no time for pleasantries now. I must ask if your husband is here."

The woman shook her head before saying, "I'm sorry Hokage-sama, but Inoichi hasn't returned from his last mission yet, and isn't due back for several more days."

Sarutobi nodded his head slightly before looking vacantly into the distance for a moment and saying, "What about your daughter, Ino?"

The woman looked slightly taken aback, "Yes, Ino is here, but may I ask why you need her?"

The Hokage nodded his head, "Of course Mrs. Yamanaka, it is your right as her mother. If Kakashi and I can come in, and if you will get your daughter, I will happily tell you what is going on."

--

Naruto was stressed out. Kai's heart meter had just started beeping frantically and several nurses had quickly rushed into the room to try and stabilize him. The only problem was, no matter what they tried to do, he never improved. Kai's heart was racing, and there was no physical reason for it to be happening. The doctors were baffled, and Naruto and Sasuke were worried, while Sakura just played along with Sasuke, hoping that sympathizing with him would get her noticed. It wasn't that she wasn't worried about Kai, it was just that she was in a room with Sasuke, and, in this situation, she must use all of her time and attention to try and get him to like her.

Suddenly, one of the younger nurses suddenly exclaimed, "Look! It's like he is covered in cuts!" Naruto immediately looked over and gasped. Kai's skin was crisscrossed with thin, red welts, which looked a lot like very shallow cuts or scratches.

Naruto quickly dashed over to the far side of Kai's bed from where the doctors and machines were and sat down next to the bed saying, "Come on Oni-san, don't give up. You can fight through this, whatever it is."

--

"Come on Oni-san, don't give up." Naruto's voice echoed from the darkness around Kai who perked up from his slumped position.

"Naruto?" Kai said softly, before stumbling back to his feet once more.

"Hmph," the voice grunted, "that fool cannot help you here boy. You must fight this fight alone, and there is no one that can help you now!" Kai's face firmed up as he steadied himself before trying to find his assailant again.

--

"So you see Mrs. Yamanaka," Sarutobi finished while Kakashi stood silently behind him, "that is why we need help from Ino." The old man had spent the last few minutes sitting on the Yamanaka's couch, explaining Kai's situation as well as the Hokage's suspicions on the subject. Kakashi had remained the silent watcher the entire time, hoping that this plan would work, while Ino stayed equally silent, sitting next to her mother.

Mrs. Yamanaka nodded and said, "I see Hokage-sama. I can understand why you wanted my husband or Ino," she then turned to Ino and said, "Do you think you can help the Hokage?"

Ino looked up, deep in thought, she wanted to help Kai, but she wasn't sure if she would be able too. She knew her family's Jutsu, but that didn't mean that she was completely confident that she could use them in the way that the Hokage was asking. Finally, she looked back down at the ninja elder, face set firm, and said, "I'll try Hokage-sama."

"Excellent," Sarutobi said as Kakashi let out a breath that he hadn't realized he was holding, "Kakashi, if you would."

Kakashi stepped over to Ino and placed his hand on her shoulder before looking over at her mother, "We'll meet you at the hospital; I have to get Ino there as quickly as possible." At Mrs. Yamanaka's nod, Kakashi and Ino disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

--

Kai was still trying to find his opponent, but his attempts at detection were continuously thwarted by the absolute darkness around him and the constant attacks that were still sapping his energy. "Why haven't you given up yet boy?" the voice demanded, now beginning to sound irritated, "You can save yourself a lot of trouble by just quitting."

Kai laughed softly, smirking, as he said, "But what you don't understand is that I won't. I cannot give up, because that would let down my friends, and I can't let that happen!"

The voice laughed ominously, the constant sound echoing from every direction, "If you feel so strongly, then you will die for your beliefs!" With that, the sword swipes redoubled and Kai was forced once again to his knees.

--

"Out of the way!" Kakashi shouted as he ran through the Hospital halls with Ino close behind, "Move it!"

"Sorry," Ino said as they ran past doctors and patients who had quickly moved to the side to get out of the semi-frantic Jonin's way, "Sorry."

Eventually, the two ninja reached Kai's room where Kakashi threw the door open before dashing in and looking once again at his student. Kai had worsened greatly since the last time Kakashi had seen him. He now had what looked like dark red scratches showing on all of his visible skin, and more were appearing as Kakashi looked on.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sasuke said, standing up as the Jonin burst into the room.

Then, as Ino came into the room and stepped around Kakashi, Sakura scowled, "Ino-pig," but Ino paid her no attention. Her eyes were on the boy lying on the hospital bed across the room from her.

She slowly walked over to Kai's beside, placing her hands on his arm and whispering something unintelligible before turning back to Kakashi, "Let's get started."

Kakashi smiled slightly when he saw Ino's reaction before he responded, "Alright, get in position, I'll watch your body."

Ino turned back around until she was facing Kai. Then, she stretched her arms out, with her first two fingers on each hand, as well as her thumbs, touching at the tips while her remaining fingers stretched upward, forming the hand sign for her family's Jutsu. She then lined up Kai with the opening enclosed by her hands and focused her chakra before saying, "_Shintenshin no Jutsu!"_ and slumping forward as Kakashi moved to catch her and settled her into a nearby chair.

"And now," Kakashi said while his three students stared at him with questions written across their faces, "we wait."

--

Ino's vision slowly cleared as she appeared within Kai's mindscape. Her first thoughts were of how organized the room was. Kai seemed to have a very high level of mental discipline, but that made sense because someone would have to have that kind of control if they were going to make the kind of progress that Kai had in the short amount of time he had had to do it. Ino took a moment more to admire Kai's mindscape "room" before she turned around and gasped.

A hole had been blasted into the "wall" on one side of the "room," and beyond the hole was a pitch black void. Somehow sensing that Kai was out there, Ino steeled herself and walked out of the comfortable room and into the darkness.

As soon as she entered the void, she felt a cold chill run down her spine and shivered as a heavy feeling of hopelessness settled down. Ino quickly shook it off as she had been taught by her father before stretching out her senses to try and locate Kai's presence.

--

Kai was in pain; not that that was anything out of the ordinary, but it hurt all the same. He was covered in slowly bleeding cuts from his assailant's sword which were constantly sapping his strength away and slowly dragging him toward death. All the while, the Genin was tormented by this mysterious voice that emanated from everywhere and taunted him with his faults and limitations.

"You know that you can never amount to anything you foolish boy," the voice said maliciously, "you know that you will fail here as well, and when you do, I will rise to your place. I will take your body and your friends will suffer, and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Kai sobbed silently, caused both by his pain and the steadily building despair he was experiencing. He knew the voice was right. He knew that he was a failure. He knew that he had always been one.

The voice paused in its taunting for a moment before saying, "Oh, it seems like someone has decided to join in on our fun. But don't get it into your head that this person can help you. There is nothing that can pull you away from your imminent failure now!" But Kai could almost sense someone nearby now. He wasn't sure how he could; only that he did. Someone was here, someone that might be able to help him.

Then Kai heard a voice, not the taunting voice from everywhere, but a single, female voice coming from one definite direction, "Kai, where are you?"

Kai smiled slightly in relief while the figure in the darkness suddenly shouted, "NO!" and the attacks on Kai's hunched form redoubled once again, drawing Kai's thoughts away from anything but his pain.

--

"Kai, where are you?" Ino called out, following her ears toward the only sound she was able to hear, a very vague noise that was steadily growing louder as she walked. Then, just as she began to wonder if she would ever find anything, she practically tripped over a crouched form in front of her.

"Kai," Ino said hesitantly, reaching out a hand and placing it on the figure's shoulder, "is that you?"

The figure looked up, revealing a face crisscrossed with shallow, bleeding cuts, "I…Ino? Is this real?"

Ino was close to tears. Seeing Kai in this condition got to her in a way she hadn't anticipated, and she immediately fell to her knees and hugged him tightly, a hug that he instantly returned. "It's alright Kai," she whispered as he sobbed softly into her shoulder, "it's ok. There's no reason to be scared anymore."

Kai suddenly stiffened before rising from his position against Ino, placing his hands on her shoulders as he looked into her eyes, "Yes, there is. He is still out there, in the darkness."

"What do you mean? Who is out there?" she asked. Kai looked very serious, and his voice was even, which kept Ino from thinking he had lost his mind, but it still didn't help her understand what he was saying.

Kai grimaced, "I don't know," he slammed one of his hands into the ground before wincing and bringing it back up to rub it with his other hand causing Ino to lean toward him slightly due to the loss of contact, "but whoever he is, he is the one who did this to me. Where are we anyway?"

Kai's sudden question caught Ino off guard for a moment before she recovered and said, "We are in your mindscape. You have been unconscious ever since your mission to Wave, so the Hokage asked me to use my family's mind transferring Jutsu to enter your subconscious and try to find out what was wrong."

Kai sighed, "I've been in here getting the pulp beaten out of me. But, you said that this is my mind, right? Then why is it so dark?" As the words left Kai's mouth the area around the two Genin immediately began to lighten to a dark grey, and then to a lighter grey, until it finally became bright enough that the two Genin expected to see the sun shining overhead. The only thing it revealed, however, was a dull grey plain, extending forever in every direction except one where a small pinpoint of white could be seen that marked Kai's mindscape "room."

"Very well done," a man's voice said from behind Ino who jumped slightly while Kai stiffened, recognizing the voice, "it's about time that the pathetic boy figured out what was going on."

--

Kai stiffened as he looked over Ino's shoulder and finally saw the figure that had been systematically destroying him ever since he woke up in this place. The figure was about six feet tall and was wearing a long, grey cloak that hung open to reveal a red and black jumpsuit of a similar design to what Naruto wore, only not as loose. The man was holding a katana in his hand with a slightly bloody edge while the scabbard hung loosely from his belt underneath the cloak. The man's face was that of an elderly man, but the eyes showed level of vitality that you would expect to see in someone much younger, but never anyone as old as this man looked to be. The man's hair was grey and grew down from the top of his head to a beard that extended several inches below his face, which wore an evil smirk.

Kai immediately recognized the man standing only a few yards in front of him as the same one who had fought Kakashi back in the forest clearing where Kai had woken up. Wincing slightly, the boy immediately moved to place himself between his attacker and Ino. "Kai," Ino said, "who is that?"

"Oh how rude of me," the elderly swordsman said, bowing with an exaggerated flourish of his free hand, "I am Zanbifushi Hito!"

"Who?" Ino said, placing her hand on Kai's injured back as he stood protectively in front of her.

"I'll explain later," Kai mumbled before sinking once more into his fighting stance, "for now, we have an intruder to deal with."

Hito laughed, "Oh now Kai, don't call me an intruder. After all, I am not the real Zanbifushi Hito, just a memory-based version that you invited into your mind."

"What are you talking about?" Kai shouted while Ino just stood behind him, absorbing all this information for another time.

Hito laughed again before shaking his head, "Each time you used some of my memories to fight or train, you would awaken another part of my personality that was unintentionally implanted within your mind alongside those memories during the failed ritual that that fool Kakashi interrupted. When you accessed my Kenjutsu memories, you awakened the final part of my being and I immediately started taking over your consciousness. When I managed to breach the wall in your mindscape stronghold, you passed out and our one-sided battle began; a battle that I will now finish!"

Hito suddenly dashed forward and attempted to end the battle quickly by severing Kai's head from his shoulders, but found his attempt blocked by a katana that had suddenly appeared in Kai's hands. "I'm afraid not Hito," Kai said defiantly as he pushed the elderly man backwards, throwing him out of the deadlock and off balance, "this is my mind, and you no longer have the advantage here!"

Kai dashed forward and swung his sword horizontally, forcing Hito backwards before he reversed the stroke and brought it up toward the man's head. This stroke was blocked, however, before Hito used Kai's own move on him and pushed the Genin back before pressing his advantage once again.

--

Ino watched the Kenjutsu battle going on in front of her, completely in awe of the skill of these two fighters. On one side, there was Zanbifushi Hito, a man of unknown origin who had great skill despite his age, and seemed to have some kind of history with Kai, while on the other side was Kai himself, the Genin who was showing more skill with his katana than Ino had ever expected to see from him.

It didn't take long for Ino to realize that the two were evenly matched in skill. Although Kai was the weaker of the two physically, or at least as physically as things could get in someone's mindscape, he had a slight advantage over Hito since they were fighting in his mind. Hito, however, had the advantage of condition. Kai was beaten, cut, and bruised almost beyond recognition, and all of that had taken a toll on the Genin's body.

After a few more minutes of stalemated fighting, Ino realized that she would have to be the deciding factor in this battle; otherwise, the two would just end up fighting on and on, until one of them got too tired and made a mistake. Steeling herself for what she must do, shook slightly to try and snap out of her trance and drew out a kunai before waiting for her moment, the moment that she could turn the tide of the battle.

--

Kai fought Hito to a stalemate, neither of them able to overcome the other because of their mutual Kenjutsu style. Hito realized this as well and the man's face changed to an evil smirk during their next deadlock, "Did you ever wonder how I got you for my _Tamashii Kirikaeru no Jutsu_ in the first place?"

Kai just sneered while Hito's smirk only grew before he continued, "You don't remember this, but your parents gave you up. They decided that they would rather lose their child than give up their lives. They took the easy way out I offered them, and then they ran."

Kai's eyes widened as Hito's words registered in his mind. That couldn't be true. Had his parents really given him up just to save themselves? Hito, sensing the boy's hesitation, suddenly pushed against him, sending Kai to his back while his katana went spinning across the floor.

"And now you foolish boy," Hito said as he approached Kai with his blade held over his head, "you will die."

--

Ino watched as Hito said something to Kai, which caused the boy to lose his concentration, before Hito pushed the Genin off balance and disarmed him. Hito slowly advanced upon the fallen Genin with his blade held over his head, at the ready for an attack that would easily kill Kai if it connected.

Thinking quickly, Ino threw her kunai at Hito, catching the man off guard and lodging it in his right shoulder. The elderly man let out a scream of pain and rage as he dropped his katana and rounded on Ino before stalking toward her and pulling the knife out of his arm.

"You foolish girl," Hito taunted, "you should have stayed out of this fight, but now it is too late. You have injured me, and for that, you will die." With a powerful backhanded strike, Hito smashed Ino in the face and sent her flying off to the side, away from Kai, and onto the 

ground where she lay, dazed, as Hito advanced on her once again. This wasn't how she had planned for things to go.

--

This couldn't be possible. Kai didn't remember anything about his parents, but surely they wouldn't have just abandoned him to a madman like Hito just to save their own skins. They wouldn't have. They couldn't have. Could they?

Kai lay on the ground where Hito had thrown him, lost in his thoughts, completely oblivious to the fact that Hito had rounded on Ino until he heard her scream. He quickly jerked his head around in the direction the noise had come from and paled. Hito was standing over Ino's body, holding a bloody kunai in his hand while Ino's shoulder let out a torrent of blood from a fresh wound.

Kai felt a rage growing in him like he had never felt before. He could worry about his parents later, for now he needed to get over to Ino and stop Hito from killing her. Kai struggled back to his feet and looked up in time to see Hito preparing to plunge the Kunai into her again.

--

Ino screamed as Hito plunged her Kunai into her right shoulder as he stood over her. Laughing, the crazy man said, "You will not get to die a quick death, oh no. You have caused me pain, and that foolish boy is out of the way for now, so I can take my time with you and make you feel the same pain you gave to me!" Hito raised the kunai again and moved to plunge it down into her other shoulder, but suddenly stopped in mid attack.

As Ino watched, blood began to bubble from Hito's mouth as he looked down his body to see the sword point protruding from his stomach. Ino quickly used her good arm to scoot herself backward, away from the dying ninja, just as the sword disappeared back into his body with the sickening sound of flesh of metal.

Hito fell forward onto his face, revealing a panting Kai standing behind the dead ninja with a bloody katana in his hands, "Are you alright Ino?"

Ino nodded dumbly as he made his way over to her and used a quick Jutsu to heal her shoulder. "You didn't need to do that you know," Ino said, blushing, "I would have been alright once I returned to my own body."

Kai blushed back, "That's alright, I wanted to. After all, you helped me get out of this mess." Ino was about to respond, but just as she opened her mouth to speak, Kai's eyes opened wide and a blade suddenly burst out of his chest, sending a light spray of blood onto Ino's face.

"Finally!" Hito shouted, rising from the ground and clutching his chest, "The boy is dead!"

"NO!" Ino shouted, becoming consumed with anger. Ino suddenly charged the near-dead Hito with tears in her eyes, her fury at Kai's death overwhelming any rational thought she might have had.

Hito chuckled and used his free hand to catch the young girl's fist before twisting it painfully, causing Ino to fall to her knees next to Kai's body. "Foolish girl," Hito taunted before once again twisting Ino's arm, "he's gone now, and getting angry about it will only get you killed sooner." Hito released Ino's arm and sheathed his sword, watching as she collapsed completely, her sobs filling the otherwise silent air around them.

--

Is that Ino? Why is she crying? Who is that laughing? What happened? Kai's body was paralyzed with pain, all of it centered on his chest, right over his heart. Kai remembered healing Ino's shoulder, and then the awkward silence, and then…Hito! Kai tried to move, he had to get up. Hito was still alive, and he and Ino were in danger! After a few more seconds of straining, Kai began to get frantic, he couldn't move, what was going on?

Wait, maybe he couldn't move, but that didn't mean he was powerless. They were still in his mind, right? Grasping onto that last thread of hope, Kai began to focus on healing himself and regaining his strength.

--

Hito was still laughing when Ino ran out of tears. Her eyes dried up and she looked down one last time at Kai's battered body. She knew what she would have to do. She needed to release her Jutsu so she could tell Kakashi to kill Kai's body before Hito assumed control. That was the only way to salvage this situation now, and she knew it. She didn't like it, but she knew it.

Ino slowly moved her hands into a seal, hoping that Hito wouldn't catch on to what she was doing, but just as she began gathering chakra to release her Jutsu, Hito grabbed her arms and yanked them apart. "What do you think your doing?" he taunted as he lifted Ino into the air by her arms, holding her at the wrists with each arm stretched out to her sides, "You wouldn't be trying to escape me now would you?"

Ino shivered, she knew she was in trouble, but couldn't keep her thoughts straight enough to figure out a way out of it. If she had been thinking straight, she might have tried to break free from Hito's grasp, but as it was, she just dissolved into tears again.

"Ino," a soft voice said, coming from all around the two ninja and causing Hito to look around in confusion, "please don't cry, not for me, at least not yet."

--

Hito was furious. He had just killed the boy. After the long, mostly one-sided battle they had been through, Hito had finally overcome the boy's spirit and killed him, and yet, he was 

talking. Hito growled and grasped Ino's wrists tighter, nearly crushing them in his grip, as he looked around for Kai.

Suddenly, juts when Hito began to believe that he hadn't actually heard anything, he heard it again. "Hito," Kai's voice said, "you shouldn't have done that. By bringing me so near death you gave me the desperation I needed to finalize my control over my mindscape. And that is not good news for you, especially since you happen to be threatening a friend of mine."

Hito scowled slightly before he smirked and changed his grip on Ino, holding her close to his body and re-drawing his blade before placing it at her throat, "And if you do anything to try and harm me, I'll kill her." Ino was petrified with fear and on the verge of tears again. This was not at all what she had signed up for when she had agreed to go along with the Hokage's plan.

"Do you really think that you can do anything I don't want you to in this place? You are in my domain, the only place in the universe where I hold absolute power." Kai's voice echoed from all around, perfectly simulating the effect Hito had used earlier.

"That doesn't mean that you can stop me from killing her," Hito shouted out suddenly and savagely jerked his katana across Ino's throat. The only problem was that Ino was no longer in his grasp. She was lying several dozen feet away, with her head on the lap of the crouched form of Kai, completely healed as if he had never been attacked in the first place.

"H…How?" Hito stammered as his katana dropped from nerveless hands.

"I told you," Kai said, this time without using the echoing effect, "you're in my domain now!" Hito immediately felt a blast of wind hit him, causing the elderly ninja to fall flat on his back and pinning him there through sheer force, while Kai easily strode through the maelstrom as if it wasn't even there. "You tried to take over my mind, but you failed," as Kai spoke, Kai's katana appeared in his hand, "you threatened my friends, but your threats were proven to be empty," the sword in the Genin's hand began to glow the blue color of his chakra, "and to top it all off, you lied about my family," Kai held his hand in front of his face forming a half-seal before his blade burst into flames.

Hito screamed incoherently in rage and fear.

Kai scowled darkly at the now doomed ninja, "Because you threatened the people that I hold dear, you will die for it." Suddenly, the fierce winds simply stopped, leaving Hito free to move, but not quickly enough. As Hito jumped to his feet, Kai made his move, suddenly appearing in front of him, with his flaming katana carving a fiery arc through the air, before easily slicing through Hito at the waist.

Hito stood there, eyes wide open, before slowly looking down and then back up at Kai. The old man feebly raised a hand and grabbed onto Kai's sleeve before slowly falling backward, as his now nerveless legs collapsed beneath him, spouting blood as his body separated.

Kai slowly turned away from the gruesome scene in front of him and waved his hand absentmindedly, causing another wind to whip up and savagely tear at the corpse of the now dead ninja. As Ino watched, slightly shocked, the body of the once fierce warrior began to dissolve into dust before blowing away over the grey horizon. Ino's face paled slightly until Kai walked over to her and offered her his hand to help her up off the ground. Shaking herself slightly, she blushed as she took his hand and was pulled to her feet.

"Are you alright?" Ino asked after she steadied herself.

"Never better," Kai laughed, scratching the back of his head.

Ino's face fell comically, "Please don't do that, it reminds me of Naruto."

Kai laughed nervously before dropping his arm and saying, "I guess we need to get back to the 'room' so we can get out of here?"

"Yeah," Ino said, "let's get going." The two Genin set off toward the distant white light that marked Kai's mental "room" both of them searching for something to say to fill in the awkward silence.

After a few minutes of walking, Kai stopped suddenly before turning to the Kunoichi and saying, "Ino, I have a slight request to make."

Seeing Kai had stopped, Ino turned toward him and tilted her head slightly before asking, "What is it Kai?"

Kai's face reddened slightly as he turned back toward their destination before saying, "I need to find out if Hito was telling the truth or not, and there is only one way I can do it."

"What do you mean?" Ino asked before putting her hand on Kai's shoulder and turning him back toward her.

Kai's blush deepened slightly and he bowed his head before saying, "I need to look through the rest of Hito's memories and find the moment when he took me from my parents."

"Huh?" Ino asked, perplexed.

Kai paled slightly before looking back up to her face. He had never told anyone from class except Naruto, Shikamaru, and Choji about his past with Hito, but Ino had just saved his life, the least he could do would be to tell her the truth. Not only that but he had pretty much trapped himself into explaining everything to her. "Well Ino," Kai started before sighing and saying, "Let's get back to the room first, then I promise I'll tell you everything I can."

Ino nodded, still confused, but determined to help in whatever way she could, and continued walking, leading the way to their destination.

--

"…Then, during our fight earlier, Hito said that my parents had abandoned me and ran. I didn't want to believe him, but its going to nag at me if I don't find out the truth." Kai finished. When the two had finally arrived in Kai's mental safe house Kai had immediately exercised his newfound power to repair the room and set everything back to the way it should have been. Once that was complete, he had created two armchairs for the Genin to use while Kai explained his story.

Ino now sat in her chair, deep in thought, before looking up and saying, "And that is what spurred you on to defeat him isn't it? You were angry at him for speaking badly about your parents, even though you never knew them, but now you need to know for sure."

Kai blushed slightly and said, "Something like that, yeah." The truth was that it had only been a small part of his motivation, the majority of it came from seeing her in trouble, but that was just because she was a fellow Konoha ninja and had come to help him out. Wasn't it?

Ino remained in deep thought for a moment before sitting up straight and clapping her hands, causing Kai to jump slightly, before saying, "Well then, I guess we should get started huh?"

Kai blinked stupidly, staring at her in wonder for a moment, before recovering and stuttering out, "Y...Yeah! Come on, Hito's old memories are over here." Kai rose from his seat and motioned for Ino to follow him to a trunk on one side of the room. When Kai opened it up, Ino gasped as her eyes fell on dozens upon dozens of shining, white, baseball-sized orbs, Kai however, frowned at the sight.

"Are these his memories?" Ino said with her eyes full of wonder, "Somehow I expected them to be darker or something more sinister looking, but these are actually beautiful."

Kai's continued frowning as he said, "Originally they were, but I felt that I should change how they looked so I wouldn't get depressed whenever I reviewed them, but that isn't important now."

Ino looked over at him, partially upset that he had shot down her fascination, and partially curious as to why he was frowning, "What's wrong."

"There not all here," Kai said as he reached into the trunk, "this thing should be close to overflowing, but it's not." Then, as the two watched, one of the bright silver orbs pulsed momentarily before simply vanishing.

Ino wrinkled her forehead in thought for a moment before suddenly saying, "Hito! Since you destroyed his presence here, and he said he was made from these memories, you eliminated their essence. Because of that, they no longer have anything holding them here, and they're vanishing without that anchor."

Kai cursed softly, "Then we need to get to work then." With that said, Kai reached into the chest and took hold of a memory orb before pulling it out and focusing on it, immediately becoming immersed in the memory. Ino hesitated only for a moment before she followed Kai's example.

--

After a few hours of searching, Kai was beginning to lose hope. The memories in the chest had been steadily disappearing, always starting at the top of the pile and working downwards, and some of them even vanished while one of the two ninja were examining them. So far, they had had no luck, only finding an occasional reference to a search for a new body, but none that talked about Kai specifically.

Then, just as they were nearing their third hour of search, Ino suddenly exclaimed, "Hey! I think I've got it!" Kai looked over at her and dropped the memory he had been looking at, which promptly vanished, before placing his hands over Ino's on each side of the small orb.

Completely missing the girl's blush, Kai said, "Alright, let's go together."

Ino, still blushing slightly, nodded, "On three. One…Two…Three," and the two Genin plunged themselves into one of Zanbifushi Hito's most recent memories.

--

Hito walked calmly along the mountain path underneath the searing noonday sun. His worthless underlings had once again failed to acquire the boy, so he had decided to just get the job done himself. It had been a relatively short distance to travel for a ninja of his skill, but he would pay for the exertion over the next few days. He had more than enough chakra to allow his body to make the journey, but even he had to pay the price of old age.

Hito smiled as the arch marking the entrance to the village he was heading for came into view. Quickly getting himself into character, Hito hunched over and flung his traveling cloak over his head, taking on the appearance of an old traveler, one that would probably be seeking shelter for the rest of the afternoon and night.

As he approached the archway, a guard dashed out of a small building set just inside and hailed him from a distance. "Halt!" the lightly armored man shouted, "state your business!"

Hito put on his cheerful old man smile and said, "Oh, hello there sonny. I'm just an old traveler, seeking shelter for a while. I've got some distance left to go, and I don't think I will be able to make it out of the mountains to the next town before night falls. I'm willing to negotiate for some supplies as well, if you'll have me."

The guard turned back toward the building he had come from and said something inaudible before turning back, "Alright old-timer, come on in." Hito waved before continuing on his way, moving with the slow, carefully intentional gait of the elderly.

Once Hito had passed within the boundaries of the village he began to look around, carefully keeping his face vacantly curious to avoid suspicion. After a moment, he recognized a few of the buildings that his minions had described to him and set off toward his destination, a small house on the far side of the village from his present location.

About halfway through the village, a middle aged man walked up to Hito, "Can I help you sir?" the man said, smiling widely.

"Oh it's no trouble young man," Hito said, seething behind his fake smile, "I'm just looking for a hotel or somewhere I can stay for the night."

"Oh, in that case, you should come over this way," the man said, gesturing to his left. When Hito looked, he silently cursed when he saw a large building clearly marked as the village Inn. "In fact," the man continued, completely oblivious to Hito's anger, "I am the owner of the Inn, and I would be glad to get you settled in if you would like."

Hito turned his painfully forced smile back on the man, "Oh you don't need to bother with me…"

"But I insist," the overly cheerful man said before moving to Hito's left side and placing his arm around the old man's slumped shoulders, applying just enough pressure to get him moving toward the building, "It is not a problem at all."

Hito sighed inwardly, but his fake smile became a real smirk. It looked like he would get to have a little fun with this village after all. His minions may have been stopped by their pathetic defenses, but nothing they could possibly muster would be able to overpower Zanbifushi Hito.

Hito stopped short, resisting the innkeeper's push on his back, and stood up straight, reaching his full height around six feet, putting him up higher than the chubby man who was trying to serve as Hito's escort. "Actually," Hito sneered, "I think I will find my own way now." Hito extended his right arm and waved it absently, causing a hole to open in midair, before reaching into the opening and pulling out a black katana.

"W..W…Who are you?" the innkeeper stuttered, backing away as Hito's KI started radiating out in waves.

Hito chuckled darkly before drawing his katana from its sheath, "You foolish man, you should have left me alone. Now, die at the hand of Zanbifushi Hito!" Hito brought his katana around in an arc, severing the man's head from his shoulders and sending a fountain of blood into the air before he turned and continued on his previous path.

Soon however, a plume of smoke appeared in front of him, halting his progress, as a ninja in a dark red jumpsuit appeared, holding his hand in front of him, "Halt! Drop the sword or I will 

be forced to use lethal measures." Hito merely smiled as he quickly decapitated the man before stepping over the bleeding corpse.

It didn't take long for more ninja to appear, but Hito dealt with them all in a similar, and equally bloody, manner as he had with the first. The result was that by the time he had reached his destination, his sword and right arm were equally covered in the blood of half the men in the village, while Hito himself remained untouched.

As Hito approached the door to the small house, he heard a loud barking and turned in time to backhand a large dog that was charging at him. When the dog hit the wall next to the door, it suddenly burst open, and a man with dark hair and a purple vest with white pants dashed out with a shovel held over his head. Hito smiled as he formed a one-handed hand sign and brought his hand up to his face, before exhaling a large fireball that consumed the man and left him flailing on the ground, trying futilely to extinguish the flames. Hito merely laughed and stepped over the screaming man and stepped through the door of the house.

The first room was clearly a common area, where the family entertained any guests they might have, but there was no sign of any people there now, so Hito just moved along through a door across the room. This door opened into a hallway with four doors leading from it, one on each side of the short hall both at the beginning and the end. Hito shrugged and turned to the first door on his left and kicked it open, revealing a kitchen.

Hito looked around the room for a few moments before exiting and repeating the process across the hall, finding a bedroom. Hito heard a barely audible gasp when he entered the room and smiled as he turned toward a closet. Slowly, the elderly ninja reached for the door handle while his other hand held his katana at the ready, just in case there was any kind of threat. Just as his hand rested on the handle, the closet door burst open and Hito was kicked in the chest by a red-haired woman dressed in a black jumpsuit with a little purple trim.

"Ah," Hito said as he got up, "so the last of the Wareta clan is a fighter."

"I don't know who you are," the woman said, "but you will not have my son!"

Hito launched himself forward, hoping to end the battle soon, before the woman activated her bloodline, but saw with disappointment that he was already too late. It was with a small amount of surprise however, that Hito saw his blade pass through the woman's body without her putting up any kind of a fight. Maybe the Miraigan wasn't that useful after all.

Just as Hito turned back toward the closet, he was hit from behind and knocked into a bedside table, causing the lamp on top of it to break. He angrily jumped up and spun around to find the woman was once again on her feet with her bloodline active.

"How?" Hito demanded, just as the "dead" body on the ground disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Hito growled and moved in with his katana swinging, only to have the woman dodge a few swipes before Hito managed to catch her with a glancing blow on her arm.

The woman fell to her knees as she clamped her right hand over her wound. "Kai," she said as Hito advanced to finish her off, "please be safe." Those were the last words that she ever spoke before Hito ended her life with a single decapitating sword slice. Smiling, Hito turned back to the closet and saw the twelve year old form of the young Wareta Kai, cringing away from his mother's killer.

--

Kai and Ino stood next to each other with their hands clasped together where the orb had once been. It had disappeared just as they came out of their trance along with the last of Hito's memories in Kai's trunk. Ino looked up at Kai's face, watching as the tears flowed freely down his cheeks. "Come on Kai," she said, hugging him, "let's get out of here." Ino formed a hand sign and released a burst of chakra, sending her back to her body and putting Kai on the road back to consciousness.

--

Kakashi watched, concerned, as his student remained lying in his hospital bed, still showing no signs of improvement. Ino had been in his mind for several hours, and Kakashi was getting worried about her as well. Kai had stabilized shortly after Ino had entered his mind, but Ino remained away from her body and Kai remained unconscious.

Sarutobi and Mrs. Yamanaka had arrived around thirty minutes after Ino had performed her Jutsu and they were both concerned as well. Well, maybe concerned isn't the right word. Mrs. Yamanaka was becoming frantic with worry for her only daughter. "Do you think Ino is alright Kakashi-san?" Mrs. Yamanaka asked for the tenth time since she had arrived.

Kakashi sighed before turning to her and saying, "Yes Mrs. Yamanaka, I'm sure she is fine."

The woman didn't seem convinced, so Sarutobi decided to step in, "Mrs. Yamanaka, Ino is a completely capable ninja, and you should be proud of her. That being said, you should also trust her to be able to handle herself. This is just like any other mission; only this time, she has gone somewhere that no one else can go. You have to believe in her skill and that she will return to us safely."

Mrs. Yamanaka slumped slightly and sank into her own thoughts for a few moments until Naruto suddenly exclaimed, "Kakashi-sensei! It's Kai, he's crying."

Kakashi quickly turned back to his unconscious student and, just as Naruto had said, a few tears were slowly running down his face. Kakashi jumped yet again as he heard a groan behind him and turned in time to see Ino sitting up and rubbing her head before she was practically tackled by her mother.

"Mom," Ino said, struggling against her mother's grip, "please. Stop it." Ino managed to get free and stood from her seat before stumbling over to the bed. Just as she reached the 

bedside, Kai moaned again and his eyes fluttered open, which brought a gasp from Naruto who jumped from his seat and dashed to the bed, opposite from Ino.

Kai looked around as he slowly sat up, his eyes looking confused until they settled upon Ino. Kai almost seemed to recoil as his eyes gained a haunted look as the tears began flowing again. With a strangled sob, Kai buried his face in his hands.

Hesitantly, Ino reached out and lifted Kai's head from his hands before enveloping him in a hug. Kai stopped sobbing for a second in shock before giving into his grief and flinging his arms around Ino and burying his head into her shoulder. Ino awkwardly patted him on the back, hoping it would help.

Kakashi looked on, mixed emotions showing on his face before he caught Naruto's eye and jerked his head toward the door. Naruto, getting the hint, got up and tapped Sasuke on the arm before leading him out of the hospital room, with Sakura following Sasuke like a trained puppy. Kakashi then turned to Ino's mother and gently took her arms before leading her out of the room. Sarutobi smiled slightly as he looked upon the two Genin before turning and leaving the room himself, softly closing the door behind him.

Down the hallway, Mrs. Yamanaka was nearly hysterical with worry about her daughter while Kakashi and the Hokage tried to calm her down. Naruto and Sasuke were deep in thought, still wondering what had happened to Kai, but glad that he seemed alright, and Sakura was still staring obsessively at Sasuke. In the hospital room however, it was all about two people who had just shared a life altering experience. It was about two friends, one comforting the other in their time of need.

--

AN: Yay! Another chapter completed! Just to make sure no one gets the wrong idea. Kai isn't going to suddenly become completely badass now. He was just really mad and in his own mind, and nothing limits us in our own minds except for ourselves… or something sappy like that… He is also not going to lose his Jutsu and Kenjutsu skills he got from Hito's memories now that they are gone. He assimilated most of them before they disappeared. Also, that was not the real Hito. Just in case someone missed it, which is entirely possible, the Hito that Kai killed in this chapter is basically an alternate personality that Kai unconsciously developed through using Hito's memories. It was trying to take over, and so Kai was forced to battle for control. Also, KI stands for Killer Intent, just so you know.

Jutsu List:

_Tamashii Kirikaeru no Jutsu_: Soul Transfer Technique

_Shintenshin no Jutsu_: Mind Body Switch Technique

This chapter was my first attempt at writing any kind of relationship scenes so I would appreciate any input that you are willing to give. Please review.


	12. Chapter 12

--

Chapter 12

--

Disclaimer: Still don't own Naruto, no matter how much I might want to.

AN: Chapter 12. There may end up being more sappy romance stuff in the next few chapters, but, for my own sanity, I will try to keep it to a minimum. I also found a web site that will provide easier translations for my original Jutsu, they still probably won't make sense to anyone who can ready Japanese, but like I said in chapter one, I just pick what sounds best to me.

--

Kai grunted as his leg thudded into the side of the training dummy before pulling back and repeating the kick again. It had been three days since he had woken from his coma. After his discharge, he had wasted no time before getting back to his training, much to the doctors' chagrin. They had wanted to keep him at the hospital for continued examination, but the Hokage had intervened, saying that Kai would need to get back to his training as soon as possible or he would fall too far behind in his skills.

So, after Kai checked out of the hospital and grabbed his stuff from his apartment, he had immediately headed to the ANBU training grounds and gotten back to work. The Hokage had brought him back in for his seal training the day after, but they only reviewed everything that Kai had already been taught before Sarutobi announced that the Genin now knew everything about seals and sealing that he would be able to teach him, but the old man had sent for a new teacher to help Kai out. The only problem was that they wouldn't be able to get to Konoha for some time, so, until they showed up, Kai would be left to his own devices. Since then, Kai had been rising early every day, almost as soon as the sun rose, and immediately heading to the ANBU training grounds.

Kai had spent a little time with Naruto, mostly when they ran into each other during meal times, but the Genin had been wrapped up in his own training as well, so there hadn't been enough time for much socializing. Kai paused for a moment while his thoughts drifted wildly before settling on Ino. The Genin quickly resumed his kicking, fighting down a blush, hoping the ANBU ninja training around him wouldn't notice. He really didn't know what to think about Ino, and he didn't feel comfortable talking to anyone about it, not even Naruto.

Ever since he had woken up in the hospital, he had found his mind wandering toward the platinum blonde Kunoichi more often than he felt comfortable with, and he had no idea why. Shaking his head in an attempt to clear it, Kai redoubled his efforts at pounding the dummy into oblivion.

"If you keep that up, you're going to hurt yourself," a voice came from behind Kai, who quickly spun around to see the Hokage standing behind him with a slight smile on his face.

"Sarutobi-sensei," Kai said as he bowed slightly, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"Obviously," Sarutobi chuckled, "you were too busy killing the training dummy, or were you just lost in thought?"

Kai's face turned bright red before he opened his mouth to speak, but the elderly ninja just chuckled again before waving his hand airily, "Never mind Kai. I just decided to take a break from my overwhelming paperwork to come and see how your training was going."

Kai laughed nervously as he resisted the urge to scratch the back of his head, "Everything is going fine Sarutobi-sensei; I'm just practicing my Taijutsu."

Sarutobi hid another laugh behind a light cough, "I can see that, but how is the rest of your training going, or, more specifically, your Ninjutsu training?"

"Well enough I suppose," Kai said, tilting his head slightly, "Hito's memories are gone, so I don't know exactly what all the Jutsu will do, but I still know the hand seals and the proper level of chakra flow, even if some of them are outside of my control level still."

Sarutobi nodded, "Have you tried any new Jutsu lately?"

"No," Kai shook his head violently, "I didn't want to risk it. I was afraid that one of them could be something that would destroy the training grounds even if I did keep it under control. My ninjutsu training has mostly been focused on perfecting my control over the jutsu I already know."

Sarutobi nodded once more, "That's probably for the best, but I may have a solution for you."

Kai tilted his head slightly as he forcibly relaxed his body, "What do you mean sensei?"

"I may know of someone who can help you identify these unknown Jutsu so you can classify them properly." The elderly Hokage explained as he puffed on his ever present pipe.

"Who?" Kai asked.

"Yamanaka Inoichi," Sarutobi said, closely observing Kai, watching and waiting for a reaction before slowly continuing, "Ino's father."

Kai reddened slightly when his sensei mentioned Ino, but immediately paled again when Sarutobi finished his statement, "R...Really?"

Sarutobi hid a smile behind his hand as he adjusted his pipe before saying, "Yes, he, unlike Ino, is a Jonin and has more experience with different Jutsu. He can enter your mind and look at the leftover Jutsu, and anything he doesn't recognize, he can describe to me or the rest of the village's Jonin until we find someone who can identify it."

Kai paled further still, "Cool…"

"Oh yes," Sarutobi said, smiling, "This man has enough skill to delve into your mind and discover things that even you don't know about, so it is also possible that he could find some trace of your original memories."

At this Kai perked up noticeably, "You mean, I might still have a chance to remember something?" He didn't want to get his hopes up again, but found it hard to resist in the face of this possibility.

Sarutobi nodded, "If there is anything there, Inoichi will be able to find it. But you have to realize that it is a very slim chance."

"That is more than enough for me," Kai said, all awkwardness forgotten.

The Hokage nodded, "I will try to get in touch with him and set up a meeting in the next few days," he paused for a moment before continuing, "have you met with your team since you got out of the hospital?"

Kai was caught off guard by the sudden question, but managed to recover quickly and say, "Not really. I have seen Naruto a few times, but not any of the others. I figured that Kakashi-sensei would find me if he needed anything."

Sarutobi nodded, "That is true, but you spend all your time here, and Kakashi didn't know that. He came to me earlier to ask me to tell you to meet with the rest of Squad 7 on the bridge north of the park about an hour from now. If you get going, you should have time to clean yourself up before you have to be there."

"Thank you Sarutobi-sensei," Kai said, bowing to the old man.

"Not a problem Kai," Sarutobi dismissed the Genin's statement, "It's no trouble at all. To tell you the truth, I just wanted to get away from the paperwork, and I should never let myself lose touch with my students, even if I have nothing left to teach them myself."

Kai laughed lightly, knowing that he needed to get going and bid the elderly man goodbye before starting toward the far side of the field. After a few feet however, he paused and turned back to the Hokage, "Sarutobi-sensei, do you know _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_?"

Sarutobi looked slightly surprised by Kai's question, but nodded his head anyway, "Yes, why?"

"Well, since the clones are solid, why don't you use them to help you with your paperwork?"

The Hokage opened his mouth to say something, but quickly closed it again and burst out laughing, "Of course! That's how he did it!"

"What do you mean Sensei?" Kai asked, taking a few steps back toward the old man.

Sarutobi continued laughing, "The Yondaime Hokage. He had a method for doing paperwork that allowed him to get it all done and still have a life outside his job, but he would never tell me how he did it. I should have guessed that he was using _Kage Bunshin_, it was one of his favorite Jutsu. Thank you for your suggestion Kai, I'll be sure to try that out, but you need to get going or you'll be late, and I have a feeling that you don't want to miss this meeting.

Kai waved at the Hokage, who had a strange gleam in his eyes, and turned once again before sprinting toward the far wall and jumping halfway up it in a single, chakra powered leap before wall-climbing the rest of the way up and over.

--

"Why is it that we are always waiting for him?" Naruto said once again, slowly sending Sakura closer and closer to the edge.

"It's just how Kakashi-sensei is Naruto," Sakura managed to say through her clenched teeth, "and you aren't going to make him show up sooner by complaining. You should actually be more used to it than Sasuke and I since he was training you before we even knew him."

"I know, I know," Naruto continued, sighing, "but still…"

"You want some cheese with your whine oni-san?" Kai asked as he came into earshot of the rest of his team. Sasuke was casually leaning on the railing of the bridge while Sakura was a carefully calculated distance away from him on the same side. Naruto was opposite the two of them, looking terribly bored.

"Kai!" Naruto shouted as he recognized the approaching Genin, "how are you doing? Are you alright? Is your head ok?"

"Yes, yes, and yes," Kai laughed, "I'm fine, stop worrying about me."

"I don't think you realize how shocked we were by what happened in the Wave Country Kai," Sakura said suddenly, staring intently at Kai, "you really scared us."

Kai laughed nervously as he moved to stand next to Naruto, "Sorry, I just don't want you all to get worked up over me when nothing is wrong. Everything is taken care of."

Sasuke smirked, seeing an opening, "You mean Ino took care of everything for you, right?"

Kai blushed slightly while Sasuke fought down a chuckle while Naruto looked between Kai and Sasuke with a confused look on his face and Sakura screamed, "Kawaii!"

Kai was saved from having to respond by Kakashi as he appeared on top of one of the bridge supports over the heads of his team. "Yo," he said, waving as if nothing was wrong.

"You're late Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura screamed, while Kai sighed, grateful that the attention was off him.

"Who was the one who was just saying how we shouldn't complain about him being late Sakura-chan?" Naruto teased, which only caused Sakura to turn her stony-faced death glare upon him.

"Sorry," Kakashi said, "I met an old lady on the way here and I had to help her carry her groceries..."

"That was terribly weak Kakashi-sensei…" Kai said, looking at Kakashi questioningly.

Kakashi cleared his throat as he jumped down amongst his students, "Yes, well. We have another mission Squad 7."

Naruto practically jumped on Kakashi as he wildly shouted, "ALL RIGHT! What are we doing this time Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi frantically tried to push Naruto way, "Calm down Naruto! Everyone follow me."

--

"This is ridiculous!" Naruto shouted once again.

"Give it a rest oni-san," Kai said as he bent over to pick up another empty can that was wedged among the rocks at his feet. Squad 7 was assigned a terrific mission to follow their C turned A rank mission to Wave Country. Each of them was now in ankle deep water, picking up various items of trash that had collected in a stream that ran nearby Konoha.

This was the second D rank mission that they had taken for the day. The first was to pull up weeds in a garden belonging to one of the villagers. The only problem was that Naruto, in an attempt to do better than Sasuke and win Sakura's heart, had managed to pull up everything in the garden besides the weeds. The four Genin had not been paid for that mission, and were now forced to do this one to pay back the woman for her lost plants. Needless to say, no one was very happy with Naruto at the moment.

"But seriously, we just got back from a dangerous mission, and here we are back to stupid D rank chores," Naruto continued, blissfully unaware of the looks of anger growing on the faces of his teammates.

Kakashi, who was reading his latest Icha Icha Paradise book on the shore, looked up, "Back to work you four, you can argue and complain after you pay that woman back." Grumbling, the four Genin got back to work, constantly searching for each small bit of trash, knowing that every little bit would count toward filling their bags, and once they had filled their bags, they could stop.

--

"Nice work today," Kakashi said, "You are free to use the rest of your day however you want." It was around three in the afternoon, and Kai was sore all over. Once they had finished cleaning out the stream and paying the furious woman what they owed her, Squad 7 had been led back to the bridge they had been on earlier in the day by a far too cheerful Kakashi.

"I would suggest you use the time for your own personal training," Kakashi paused for a moment, "but you may just want to relax today. Two missions in one day that were basically manual labor can wear on you." Sasuke, Sakura, and Kai all leveled glares at Naruto, who was carefully stretching out his legs, and so was blissfully unaware of their looks. "Just remember that we are going to meet here tomorrow at noon," Kakashi said before, having delivered his final message for the day, waving once more and vanishing in a cloud of smoke.

"Well," Kai said, "I don't know about you three, but I have some Kenjutsu training to do."

This brought his teammates attention to him immediately. "Why do you need Kenjutsu training Kai," Sakura asked, "you fought so well with it before, it doesn't look like you could get much better."

"That is true Sakura," Kai said as he reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a scroll, "but my skill isn't quite where I need it to be. When I fight now, it all comes from me actively thinking about it. My current skill with my katana is based in Hito's old memories, and so I need to concentrate to be good."

"But you need it to become automatic," Sasuke said, understanding dawning on his face, "so that is why you are always training."

"Exactly," Kai said, unrolling the scroll a few feet to reveal a storage seal, "I have the knowledge, now I need to develop the reflexes to go along with them." Kai formed a half-sign over the scroll and a column of smoke immediately began issuing from the center of the seal. Then, in a larger cloud of smoke, the katana Kai had taken from Gato's bodyguard appeared in midair before the Genin twisted his hand around and grabbed it, simultaneously rolling the scroll back up with his other hand before returning it to his pouch in the same motion.

Naruto's jaw dropped while Sasuke smirked and Sakura 'oohed' her appreciation as Kai strapped the black-sheathed blade to his back. "I'll see you three later," Kai said with a wave over his shoulder as he began walking back toward the ANBU training grounds. Just as Kai reached the end of the bridge however, he was forced to stop in order to avoid tripping over a tan-colored box sitting right in the middle of the path.

As Kai watched, the box began moving around him and back along his path toward Naruto and Sakura, who now stood without Sasuke, who Kai could see rounding the corner at the opposite end of the bridge. Kai decided that he might as well satisfy his curiosity and turned back to follow the mobile box as it slowly moved closer and closer to Naruto, who had his back turned.

Sakura saw him coming and started to say something, but Kai quickly put his finger to his lips before gesturing to the box in front of him. Sakura's face contorted in curiosity as the box continued moving toward Naruto, oblivious of its two watchers. Finally, Naruto noticed that Sakura was being unusually quiet and turned toward her, only to see her looking behind him. He followed her line of sight over to the box that was now within a few feet of him.

As Kai watched, Naruto's face turned red and he quickly pointed at the box and shouted, "There's no such thing as a square rock! That's the worst disguise ever!"

Kai snickered lightly, but stopped when a voice emitted from the 'square rock.' "You're pretty smart boss, to see through our disguise like that. Just what I'd expect from my greatest rival" Suddenly the talking box exploded, forcing Kai to throw his arms up to protect his eyes.

Kai wasn't the only one suffering however, as coughs could be heard coming from within the smoke cloud. "cough I think we used cough too much gunpowder guys.cough"

Kai fought down a laugh as three figures came into view after the smoke had cleared slightly. Walking around the blast zone, Kai looked at Naruto, "Do you know them?"

"Of course he does!" one of the small figures shouted from within the smoke, "I'm Konohamaru!" A boy wearing tan shorts, a yellow shirt with Konoha's symbol on it in red, and a dark blue scarf that seemed too big for him jumped out of the smoke and struck a pose in front of Kai and Naruto.

"I'm Moegi!" A girl wearing grey pants and a dark pink shirt with a lighter pink sash jumped out and struck her own pose to Konohamaru's left.

"And I'm Udon!" A boy with tan pants and a blue-grey shirt that almost went down to his knees jumped out and took his position on Konohamaru's right, sniffing slightly when he landed, almost as if he had a cold.

"And together, we're the Konohamaru Corps.!" The three children shouted together, causing Kai to recoil slightly.

"Humph," Konohamaru crossed his arms, "pretty impressive huh?" The truth was that Kai stepped back because he was having trouble keeping himself from laughing out loud and had lost his balance, but he still nodded, fighting back further tears of mirth when he caught sight of them without smoke obscuring their figures, all three of the children were wearing goggles just like Naruto had before he graduated.

"So," Kai said once he trusted himself to speak, "are these friends of yours oni-san?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head, "Yeah, Konohamaru is old man Hokage's grandson. We met during your hospital stay after the fight with Mizuki."

"Wait a second," Konohamaru shouted, cutting off Kai who had just opened his mouth to speak, "you're Wareta Kai?"

Kai looked down at the boy, who just barely came to his waist, "Yeah, why do you ask?"

Konohamaru just stared at him for a second before turning away and crossing his arms again, "You don't look like much; I bet I could take you on!"

Naruto face faulted as Kai simply burst out laughing, "You've certainly got a lot of energy, don't you. Sarutobi-sensei sure wasn't lying."

Konohamaru immediately turned back toward Kai," Huh? You know grandpa?"

Kai nodded, "Yeah, he was my sealing teacher until a few days ago. He always spoke very highly of you."

Konohamaru's face took on a dreamy look until Moegi poked him on the shoulder, "Konohamaru-kun, don't forget about why we were trying to find Naruto in the first place."

The Hokage's grandson shook himself slightly before turning back to Naruto, "Oh yeah! Boss, are you ready to play ninja with us?"

Kai found himself once again fighting back laughter while Sakura's face turned bright pink as she said, "A ninja playing ninja? Well that's just plain stupid."

Konohamaru immediately turned to Sakura and looked ready to start berating her, but Kai quickly stepped between them, "Hey calm down you two. Sakura, Don't worry about Naruto, he can do whatever he wants to in his free time. Besides, you aren't one to talk about stupid behavior for a ninja."

"What exactly is that supposed to mean?" Sakura fumed, now turning her wrath toward Kai.

Kai took a step back in the face of her fury and quickly turned to Naruto, "Sorry, oni-san, I've really got to get going," before disappearing in a cloud of smoke leaving a furious Sakura to stomp off the bridge toward her house.

Naruto looked up to one of the arches overhead and said, "Nice work oni-san, I'll see you later." Kai waved to Naruto and the three children before jumping from arch to arch over to the end of the bridge opposite the side Sakura had used before jumping down to street level and continuing toward the training grounds.

His trek was once again interrupted, however, when an enraged scream suddenly split the air, a scream that was immediately followed by a higher pitched scream of terror. Kai sighed, recognizing Konohamaru's voice, and turned around before leaping to the rooftops, rapidly making his way back to the bridge. When he arrived to find no one there, Kai began to get worried. Looking around slowly, Kai tried to find some sign of where Naruto and the others had disappeared to. It wasn't hard to figure out what had happened. Obviously, Naruto, or more likely Konohamaru if the scream was anything to go by, had done something to anger Sakura, who had probably begun chasing them in her hormonally fueled rage.

Kai sighed; he was going to have to talk to Naruto about spreading his bad habits to others. Konohamaru was looking to become more of a troublemaker than Naruto had ever been.

It only took Kai a few moments to realize that he wouldn't be able to find Naruto and the others. They weren't on the bridge, and they could have gone in either direction. It would be nearly impossibly for him to find them without some kind of clue. Just then, another scream tore through the air, this one tinged with more fear than the first. Kai caught his breath and immediately pushed off the bridge support arch, jumping back onto the rooftops, hoping that they hadn't irritated Sakura too badly.

--

A short time later, Kai landed on a building near where he thought the scream had come from, frantically searching for his teammates and the Konohamaru corps. "Let go of me!" Kai looked down and saw Konohamaru being held in the air by his scarf by a boy who couldn't have been much older than Kai was.

The boy seemed to be trying to impersonate a cat with his full-body, black jumpsuit with what looked like human-sized cat ears jutting out of the hood which framed his makeup-painted face. He had a large bundle on his back, wrapped in bandages that also kept it strapped to him, with a tuft of what looked like some kind of straw sticking out of the top. Standing behind him was a blonde girl wearing a short kimono that was a very light shade of purple with a red belt and a large, folded fan strapped to her back.

"Let him go or I'll rip you apart," Kai looked to his right and saw Naruto standing in front of Sakura, Moegi, and Udon, all of whom looked frantic with worry.

"You know," the still unidentified cat-Shinobi said mockingly, "When I hear weaklings and wimps running their mouths like you two, it makes me want to break them." Kai silently gasped. Who was this guy, just standing there, acting like he was in charge of everything? In fact, now that Kai actually looked at the two Nin standing in the alley in front of him, he saw that they weren't even from Konoha. Their hitai-ate marked them as Sunagakure Shinobi. What were two Suna Nin doing in Konoha?

"So," a voice said quietly from behind Kai, "are you going to do anything, or would you like me to?" Kai turned around quickly to see Sasuke standing behind him, smirking slightly but still keeping a serious look on his face as he watched the scene playing out before him.

"Go ahead," Kai whispered, "I'll play back-up." Sasuke grunted his assent and quietly moved over to the edge of the rooftop before jumping to the next building and then across the alley where Kai lost sight of him.

Kai's attention was brought back down to the figures before him when the Suna Nin holding Konohamaru spoke again, "So, I think I'll start with this squirt," he shook Konohamaru, causing the boy to cry out, "and then, I'll take care of the orange one."

"You know that we don't want to cause trouble," the girl said, speaking up for the first time, "he will be here soon."

"But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun until then, right?" the boy lifted Konohamaru higher into the air and drew back his other fist. Just as he was about to hit the young Shinobi-in-training, a small rock flew through the air and bounced sharply off of the hand holding Konohamaru, causing the nin to drop the boy before cradling his injured hand in his other one. Konohamaru instantly twisted in midair to land on his feet before turning and running back toward Naruto and the others, where he hid behind the orange-clad Genin's leg.

"Who did that?" the Suna Nin demanded, looking around frantically.

"That would be me," Kai looked across the alley and saw Sasuke sitting casually on a tree branch, tossing another pebble up and down in his hand. Kai smirked; leave it to Sasuke to make a dramatic appearance.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura screamed, "He's so cool."

Naruto, however, had a different point of view, "Why does Sasuke always have to show up just when I'm about to prove myself?"

Konohamaru turned to the brooding Naruto, "Boss, why can't you be that cool?"

Naruto looked upset as he kneeled down in front of Konohamaru, "Come on, I could have beaten that guy easily!" Konohamaru just stared at Naruto with a "yeah right" look on his face.

"Get lost," Sasuke said, standing up on his branch and crushing his pebble into dust.

"You know, you're the kind of punk I hate the most," the Sand Nin said as he reached around his back and pulled the bandaged bundle free before standing it next to him with his right hand securely grasping the straw on top, "all talk and no action."

The girl gasped, "Kankuro, your not going to use Karasu for this are you?"

"Relax Temari," the now named Kankuro said over his shoulder, "this won't take long."

"Kankuro, back off."

Kai froze. That voice had come from the opposite side of the alley, from the other side of Sasuke's tree. How had someone gotten there without being detected? Kai quickly looked up from the figures below him and caught sight of a person hanging upside down from a tree branch behind Sasuke. Sasuke himself was pale. It seemed that he hadn't had any more success sensing this guy than Kai had had.

"You're an embarrassment to our village." The boy said as he continued to level his even gaze upon Kankuro, who was visibly wilting. The boy was wearing black pants with a black T-shirt covered by a white sash that wrapped around his waist and up over his right shoulder. Across his other shoulder was a brown, leather strap that was holding a large gourd on his back. He had red hair that seemed to lie wherever it wanted to and partially obscured the Kanji for "Love," that had been written on the left side of his forehead, over his eyes, which were ringed with black, as if he hadn't slept in months.

"Uh," Kankuro quickly slung the bundle back over his shoulder and raised his hands in front of him, "Hey, Gaara," he seemed more than a little embarrassed, but Kai also felt an aura of fear radiating from the Suna Nin.

Gaara, however, seemed not to notice, "Have you forgotten the whole reason we came here?" He was still upside down in the tree, his unwavering gaze never leaving the cat-dressed Nin while his cross-armed stance gave him a look of authority that could have intimidated anyone.

The effect on Kankuro was obvious, "You see…we...uh…they…uh…they started it…They actually challenged us...you see…"

"Shut up," Gaara said coldly, his eyes narrowing as he paused, "or I'll kill you."

Kankuro paled, "Right, right, sorry Gaara. I was totally out of line…way out of line." The fear was coming off of Kankuro in waves, and Kai couldn't help but sympathize with him. The way this Gaara person had talked about killing someone who seemed to be, at the very least, a fellow Suna Nin, if not more, had sent chills down Kai's spine.

Kai was still stunned when Gaara's gaze broke away from Kankuro, and fixed right on him. "You may as well show yourself," Gaara said in his dark monotone, "I know you're there."

Kai numbly decided to follow the Suna Nin's advice before he decided to threaten his life as well. He stood up slowly causing Kankuro and Temari to flinch slightly when they saw that he had been in a position to ambush them at any moment.

"Oni-san," Naruto said, slight surprise in his voice as Kai jumped down from the rooftop, "how long have you been there?"

Kai sighed silently as he walked over toward Naruto before turning next to him and facing the Suna Nin, "Long enough Naruto, these guys are strong, especially the one in the tree."

Gaara, completely ignoring Kai now that he was no longer hiding, leaned forward slightly so he could see Sasuke before addressing him, "I'm sorry for any trouble Kankuro caused," and then, without waiting for a reply, he was engulfed in a swirl of sand and disappeared, only to re-appear in another cloud of sand behind Kankuro and Temari, "let's go, we didn't come here to play games."

Kankuro, still obviously nervous, jumped slightly, "Alright, sure, I got it."

As the Suna Nin turned to leave, Sakura decided that she hadn't gotten enough trouble from them. She roughly pushed past Kai and Naruto before shouting, "Hey!"

The retreating Nin stopped and Temari turned back to them with her eyebrow raised, "What?"

Sakura seemed to blanch slightly, but still continued on her path, "I can tell from your hitai-ate that you are from Sunagakure, and I know that Fire and Wind countries are allies, but you still can't come into our village without permission. Explain your purpose here, and you had better have a good excuse!"

Temari smiled sweetly as she reached into a pocket and pulled out a small card with her picture on it before holding it up and spoke with a voice dripping with sarcasm, "We have permission, right here. Yes, we are from Sunagakure, but we're here for the Chunin Exams, get the picture?"

Sakura blushed as the Sand Shinobi turned again and continued walking away. Just as Sakura was about to turn back to her teammates, Sasuke jumped down from his tree branch to land in front of her. "Hey," he called out, "what's your name?"

Temari turned again, "Who, me?" she said, almost posing as she gazed at the Uchiha with an expression that reminded Kai of Sakura's lust-filled gaze when she was anywhere near Sasuke.

Sasuke fought down a scowl, "No, him, with the gourd on his back."

Temari frowned slightly as Gaara turned once more to face Sasuke, "I'm Sabaku no Gaara. Who are you?"

Sasuke seemed unaffected by Gaara's dark monotone as he responded, "Uchiha Sasuke." The two Nin stared at each other for a few seconds that seemed to last a few hours before Gaara turned away again and the three Nin jumped to the rooftops, quickly disappearing from sight.

"Well, that was different," Kai said, trying to break the uneasy silence.

"Yeah," Sasuke said as he turned around, "that Gaara guy is strong. He found you but still managed to avoid everyone else's notice." Kai nodded solemnly, but not everyone was as impressed as Sasuke.

"That still doesn't mean that he could beat Sasuke-kun!" Sakura announced as she jumped to Sasuke's side and attached herself to his arm. Kai looked at Naruto and rolled his eyes. Sakura had completely immersed herself into her Sasuke adoration mode, and therefore, no longer acknowledged the existence of anyone else.

"By the way," Sasuke said, shaking the excited kunoichi off his arm, "what did you think you were doing, calling them out like that? They could have turned on us in an instant, and someone would have definitely gotten hurt, if not worse."

Sakura stared at Sasuke looking slightly dumbfounded but she quickly recovered, "Like I said Sasuke-kun, there is no way that that guy could have gotten past you."

Sasuke sighed, "Yeah, but there were three of them Sakura, what about the other two?"

Sakura paled a little, but quickly came up with an answer to that as well, "Naruto and I could have taken them on, and even if we couldn't, Kai was in ambush position."

"But you didn't know that Sakura," Kai interjected, "We don't know how strong they were; I may not have been able to help. Not only that, but Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon were in the danger zone too. They could have been hurt as well; you have to think about all the possibilities before you just act like that."

Sakura turned on Kai and opened her mouth to say something, but closed it again when she found herself unable to speak. Naruto chose that time to speak up, "You could have put us at risk Sakura-chan, but we got lucky." It seemed like Naruto was trying to comfort Sakura, probably in an attempt to score some points with her so he could get her away from Sasuke. He knew that she had made a mistake, but he was trying to play it down to make her feel better.

"Yeah," Sakura said, suddenly finding her voice as she shot a grateful look at Naruto, "everything is alright now, so we don't have to worry about it." Konohamaru, Udon, and Moegi were following the conversation by looking at each person who talked in turn. It would have been funny if the situation wasn't so strained.

Sasuke sighed again while Kai just shook his head, but Sakura decided, once again, not to let the subject drop without a fight, "And besides," she continued when it became clear that no one else was going to speak, "since Kai _was_ here, if anything went really wrong, then he could just go psycho like he did back in Wave, then those Suna Nin wouldn't have stood a chance."

Kai stiffened as he leveled his gaze onto Sakura, fighting down the urge to burst out against the pink haired Genin. "For your information, Sakura," Kai said evenly, trying to keep emotion from leaking into his voice, "when I went 'psycho,' as you put it, it wasn't intentional or even voluntary, and it wasn't anything I would care to repeat again. And you would know all of this if you would take your head out of the clouds and stop obsessing over Sasuke so much. You put on a face for everyone, acting like you care about others, like you care about this team, but you are only concerned with yourself and what you want to do." Kai was unable to stop talking now. It was almost as if all his frustration and anger that had gathered over the past months was finding a bit of an outlet in his venting on Sakura, and wouldn't let him stop, "The only reason that you even include yourself in anything involving our team outside of the missions and meetings is because you want to be with Sasuke, and you only focus on Sasuke. You don't care about anything else, and you have made that quite obvious to me now." Kai turned around and leapt back up onto the rooftop, leaving an open-mouthed Sakura staring after him while Naruto sadly turned away and left, followed closely by the Konohamaru corps.

Sakura saw Naruto leaving out of the corner of her eye, "Hey…wait…I…" but Naruto didn't hear her. Sakura quickly turned toward Sasuke and tried to say something, but he just shook his head and walked away as well, leaving Sakura standing alone in the alley.

--

A few rooftops away, Kai jumped down into a narrow alley between two buildings and sank to his knees, burying his face in his hands. Kai fought to keep his sobs quiet enough to prevent any attention from the nearby street, but there was nothing he could do to keep the tears from flowing.

He hadn't told anyone how much the Wave mission had bothered him, but he had a feeling that a few people had figured it out. There was something about how the Hokage and Kakashi had been looking at him recently that made Kai think they guessed that he was still troubled by it. Ino knew how much everything that had happened troubled him, but that was only because she lived through some of the effects of the mission with him, and there was something about common experiences that helped two people understand each other.

Hearing Sakura use his traumatic experience in a selfish attempt at self defense had sent him over the edge. He just couldn't help himself. He was only thankful that he hadn't broken down before he was able to get away. Maybe, just maybe, what he had said would get through to Sakura's lust-fogged mind and make her realize what she had done.

Kai sat for a few more minutes before his tears dried, leaving his eyes red and aching as his sobs slowly subsided. He still had things to do before he could relax for the day. He didn't have any more time for self pity. Groaning slightly, Kai rose back to his feet and wiped his face dry before turning and walking out onto the street and making his way to the ANBU training grounds.

--

Panting, Kai carefully slid his katana into its sheath on his back before turning and trudging over to a nearby bench. He sat down with a groan of appreciation and surveyed the last few hours work. He had systematically taken his aggression and emotion out on a ring of twelve practice dummies, with terribly destructive results. Each of the dummies had started out as a replica of a human made of wood and straw, complete with arms and legs and held to the ground through a pole that went up through the middle of the dummy up to the head.

If someone were to walk over to Kai's area now, they would see that these dummies now resembled nothing more than a few, thin bundles of straw that had been poorly gathered and wrapped before being tied to a chipped post. Kai was not normally so destructive when he practiced his Kenjutsu, and for good reason since he would have to replace the dummies from the storage shed a few yards away, but today had been a bad day and warranted a special occasion.

After resting for a few moments, Kai wearily rose from his seat and began the monotonous task of pulling the excess straw from each of the posts before taking it over to a large bin on the side of the storage shed where it would eventually be used to make more dummies. Once he had completed that part of the task, he went into the shed itself and brought some replacement dummies out, one at a time, before sliding each one onto the poles with a grunt of effort.

Kai stood back and inspected his work before letting out a sigh and returning to his seat on the bench. Once there, he drew his sword once more and placed it across his knees before reaching into his weapon pouch and pulling out a small, drawstring bag. Pulling on the string, Kai opened the bag and reached inside before pulling out a whetstone that, after he set the bag aside, he immediately began running down the sharp edge of the blade on one side, and then the other, slowly but surely bringing back the sharp cutting edge that he had dulled through his training.

This was the position the Sarutobi found him in when he sought out the Genin once more at the ANBU training grounds. Clearing his throat politely to announce his presence, the elderly Hokage walked over to Kai, "I heard that you enjoyed you team meeting," he chuckled.

Kai smiled, but continued sharpening his weapon, "Oh yeah, it was great. Naruto managed to mess up one mission, and we had to do another just to pay back the woman for her destroyed garden. So today's total came to two missions with no pay for either of them."

Sarutobi smiled, hearing the sarcasm in Kai's voice, but hid it expertly, "Yes that happens sometimes." Kai moved over on the bench to give the elder ninja a place to sit, which he gratefully took, and silence hung over both of them for a few minutes with the sole exception of the sliding of Kai's whetstone on his katana.

Suddenly, Kai spoke up, "I met your grandson today."

"Oh really?" Sarutobi asked, "And what did you think of him?"

Kai smiled again and paused in his work to look at his former teacher, "He could end up being more of a handful than Naruto one of these days."

Sarutobi feigned shock, "Oh no, spare me please!" The two ninja laughed lightly and Kai returned to his task.

"From what I hear," Sarutobi began after a few more minutes of silence, "you met more than just Konohamaru."

Kai let that sentence hang in the air while he continued sharpening his sword, only pausing for a moment to flip the blade over and continue the process on the opposite side. "We ran into a group of Suna Nin," Kai said suddenly, pausing once more, "Temari, Kankuro, and Sabaku no Gaara."

The Hokage nodded as if he already knew this, which he did. What were crystal balls for after all? "And," he prompted.

"Naruto and Sakura nearly got involved in a fight, but Sasuke intervened before it got too heated, and then Gaara showed up and put a final stop to it. After that, Sakura took a risk that might have gotten us all pounded, but they ended up leaving." Kai finished, picking up is blade once again and holding it so he could look down the edge to make sure it was properly sharpened.

Sarutobi had seen the entire event, as well as Kai's reaction afterward, through his crystal ball, but he had been hoping that Kai would be willing to talk about it without being prompted. Seeing that that wasn't going to happen, Sarutobi moved on to his next subject, "I talked to Inoichi."

Kai quickly turned toward his teacher and lowered his sword to his lap again, "I thought you said that you wouldn't be able to speak with him for a few days."

"That is indeed what I said, "Sarutobi nodded, "but in light of recent events, and not just your encounter with the Suna Nin, I decided to put a rush on it."

"How much of a rush are we talking about Sarutobi-sensei," Kai asked as he replaced his whetstone into its bag which he placed in his weapon pouch once more.

Sarutobi smiled, "He's waiting for us in my office right now."

Kai paled slightly, but nodded as he stood up and reached behind himself to remove his sheath before sliding the blade inside, "Alright Sarutobi-sensei, I'm ready when you are."

Sarutobi watched as Kai pulled out a scroll and unrolled it to reveal a storage seal, "What are you doing Kai?"

Kai paused, "Sealing away my katana."

"Why?" Sarutobi questioned.

Kai stopped, unable to find any reason at first, "Well…I can't exactly carry it out in the open all the time."

"Why not?" the Hokage said and smiled as he caught Kai off guard once more.

Kai stood in front of the Hokage with his sheathed katana in one hand and a partially unrolled scroll in the other, trying to think of some reason that he couldn't wear his sword openly. He had just assumed that he shouldn't wear such an obvious weapon out in the open unless he was on a mission or training.

"Well?" Sarutobi said, "Anything?"

Kai laughed as re rolled his scroll again and put it away before swinging his sheath back over his shoulder and re-buckling its strap, "I guess not."

"Alright then," Sarutobi smiled, "I had been wondering why you weren't openly wearing your katana. From what I could tell, you are very skilled with it, or at least more skilled than the average Genin, and you cannot rely on a tool that you have to unseal before you can use it. You may end up needing that blade sooner than you think."

Kai just chuckled and shook himself slightly to settle his katana into place before walking with Sarutobi over to the wall closest to the Hokage tower and following the elder ninja up the wall and out of the training grounds.

--

Yamanaka Inoichi was sitting in the Hokage's office, as he had been for the last several minutes. He had been asked there to help the Hokage with one of this year's Genin; one who, according to reports, was one of the more promising ones, despite a rough start.

But that was not his only interest in the boy. His wife had told him that while he had been gone, Ino had helped bring this boy, Wareta Kai, out of a coma by using their family Jutsu. No one really knew what happened during her time in the boy's head, but it had had a definite effect on each of them. Ino had been talking less about Sasuke lately, which was a shock in itself, but besides that, she would begin blushing furiously any time anyone brought up Kai or her helping him.

His paternal instincts were screaming at him that he needed to figure out exactly what was going on between Ino and Kai, and that was exactly what he planned on doing. If it was necessary, he would give the boy the father's talk and put a healthy bit of fear into him, if not, then he could at least use him as ammunition to tease his daughter.

Smiling the maniacal smile that only a parent can pull off, Inoichi patiently waited for the Hokage to arrive with Kai.

--

Kai followed Sarutobi up the stairs of the Hokage tower with a calm look on his face, but in reality, he was anything but calm. He was going to meet the father of the girl who had helped him recently, who also happened to be a girl that he had been thinking of a little too often lately. Somehow, he didn't think that Inoichi would be very happy when he found those thoughts in Kai's head.

And it was a question of when, and not if, because one of Inoichi's goals while he was in Kai's head was to try to find things that Kai couldn't. He was supposed to use his experience and skill to try and unlock any lost information, and to do so, he would have to immerse himself in Kai's thoughts and memories. In the end, Inoichi may end up knowing as much about the young Genin as Kai did himself, and definitely more than anyone else did, or at least that was what Kai's frantic mind was telling him.

But it was too late to turn back now. Kai knew that he had to get the help that only Inoichi could offer, no matter what the cost. Besides, it was only total embarrassment and the small potential for Inoichi to decide to castrate him on the spot, right? Kai paled slightly as that thought ran through his head, but still followed the elder ninja up the stairs to his office. When the two Shinobi entered the room, Kai's eyes were immediately drawn to a man sitting in one of the chairs strategically placed around the Hokage's desk. The man had turned to look at them when the door had opened, and Kai immediately recognized the family resemblance between Ino and the man in front of him now.

The man, who must be Yamanaka Inoichi, was dressed in a similar fashion to Kakashi, except his dark jumpsuit and dark green flak jacket were slightly lighter in color. Other than that, Inoichi had on a red vest that hung open in the front and stretched down to his knees and his long, blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail that fell halfway down his back. Why were there so many blondes in Konoha?

"Hokage-sama," Inoichi said, standing and bowing to the elderly ninja.

Sarutobi nodded before stepping slightly to the side and motioning for Kai to come forward, "This is Wareta Kai, the boy I talked to you about."

As Kai stepped up, Inoichi stared at him intently, trying to get some kind of a reading on him. Inoichi could read people fairly well, as could most Jonin level ninja, but even a Genin would be able to tell that this boy was petrified. The Jonin smiled kindly, trying to relax the boy, "So you're the boy that Ino helped, huh? I am her father Yamanaka Inoichi."

Kai bowed, "It's nice to meet you Yamanaka-san."

Inoichi laughed, despite his fatherly instincts, he liked this boy already, "Just Inoichi please, you don't need to use formality when we are in private."

"Gentlemen," Sarutobi said politely, "I hate to interrupt, but we need to get on with what we came here to do. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we can all get back to what we should be doing; whether it's training, family time, or…paperwork." Sarutobi feigned disappointment but Kai sent him a conspiratorial smile when Inoichi looked down to hide a laugh, to which he responded with a smile of his own.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Inoichi said when he had regained his composure, "Kai, if you would please take a seat, we can begin." Kai nodded and walked over to the offered chair across from the one Inoichi had been sitting in, which he took once again.

"I will keep watch over both of you for as long as it takes," Sarutobi said as he slid into the chair behind his desk.

Inoichi nodded to the Hokage and said, "Alright Kai, this will be just like when Ino entered you mind, except this time you will obviously be completely conscious. You are going to feel a slight pull when I use the Jutsu, sort of like the pressure that comes before a headache; you are going to have to relax into the pull to let me in, otherwise I may have to force my way in like I would with an enemy ninja, and that might end up causing more harm than good." Kai nodded and Inoichi raised his hands up in the proper hand sign before calling out his technique, "_Shintenshin no Jutsu!_"

The two ninja seated in front of the Hokage slumped and Sarutobi sighed, "I hope this helps Kai," the elder ninja then pulled a stack of papers in front of him and formed a cross-fingered hand sign.

--

"Very nice Kai," Inoichi commented as he appeared in Kai's mindscape, "Ino wasn't kidding when she said that your mind was highly disciplined."

Kai blushed slightly, but managed to hide it, "Thank you, I sort of had to obtain this level of discipline, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to succeed the way I did."

Inoichi smiled, the boy had succeeded in more than his classes if his daughter was any indication. "Alright," he said, "where are those Jutsu stored at?"

Kai led the way over to a three-drawer dresser and pulled out the top one, Inoichi walked over and peered into the drawer. Lying in a neat row was a series of scrolls, around nine of them; each scroll had a different symbol on it: fire, earth, wind, water, lightning, or ice. Reaching toward one of the fire scrolls, Inoichi removed it and opened it with a twist of his hand. The Jonin studied the scroll momentarily before smiling, Kai had organized the Jutsu so that each scroll detailed the proper hand signs, and chakra flow of each technique.

"The scrolls in this dresser are the Jutsu that I haven't identified," Kai said, pushing the drawer back in so that it was still open, but was not in danger of falling out, "the ones that I know and have used are on the rack over there." Kai pointed and Inoichi looked over to a large metal framework made of crisscrossing bars that formed dozens upon dozens of diamond shaped slots, some of which held scrolls.

Inoichi rolled the scroll up again and looked over at the beaming Genin, "This is very impressive Kai; I would never have thought to find something like this in the head of most Nin, much less a Genin."

Kai beamed at the praise, "Thank you again, is there anything you need before I zone out?"

Inoichi chuckled, "Well, if you could make me a chair it would certainly make things easier."

Kai gestured to a clear section of floor between the scroll rack and the dresser and a large armchair appeared, "How's that?"

"Great, now if you could make me a pen or something to write with I think I will be all set," Inoichi watched as Kai lifted one eyebrow, not understanding the request, "If I write what I know about each Jutsu in their respective scrolls, that should add to your knowledge of the Jutsu as well, that way you can learn about them and not even have to be here."

Since that was exactly what Kai wanted, not needing to be there while Inoichi dug through his mind just in case he came across something…interesting…the Genin eagerly nodded, "Alright," and gestured again, causing a pen to appear on top of a small table that also materialized next to the chair, "Anything else?"

"Nope," Inoichi shook his head to emphasize, "You are free to 'zone out.'"

Kai bowed to him, "Thank you again for your help Inoichi." The Jonin nodded to Kai before turning back to the drawer and pulling out several scrolls which he then took to the armchair. Kai turned away and walked over to the opposite side of the room where he sank down to the floor and sat cross-legged before beginning to meditate. Eventually, Kai lost track of everything around him and entered a dreamlike state where nothing mattered, not his past, not his friends, not even the Jonin digging around in his mind.

--

Inoichi had been working though the drawer of scrolls for several hours before he finally rolled the last one back up. There had been a few that he recognized, those few were overwhelmingly outnumbered by the ones he didn't.

Oh well, at least he was able to help the boy out some. Now he would be able to go back to his full training regiment, or at least he would be able to if he didn't get into the Chunin exams. If that were the case, then he would be smart to take it easy for a few days before the exams.

Inoichi rose from his seat and placed the still unidentified scrolls back into their drawer before closing it. The ones he knew, six of them, he placed in a neat stack on the top of the dresser for Kai to sort through later. The Genin had remained in his meditative state ever since Inoichi had begun searching all those hours ago; it seemed that the Genin wanted to think about what was going on as little as possible.

Smiling, Inoichi walked over to Kai with the intention of rousing him, but stopped when he suddenly detected something out of the ordinary. After all his years of going into people's minds, Inoichi had become fairly good at detecting things that were different from everything else just by how they felt. In a person's mind, things that felt different to someone with Inoichi's skill tended either to be things that the person didn't know about, or things that the person was trying to hide.

Since his curiosity had been aroused, Inoichi quickly walked in the direction of the disturbance and found himself approaching a bookshelf. Inoichi smiled, these must be Kai's memories organized into books. Reaching out with his senses, Inoichi tried to determine where the disturbance was coming from before finally settling on a book that was bound in red on the top shelf, just within Inoichi's reach.

The Jonin pulled the book down from the shelf and returned to his chair. Sighing lightly, Inoichi examined the book. There was no title, not that he had expected there to be one, but that did not mean it wasn't important.

Inoichi began to get excited, this was the only thing in Kai's mind that felt like this, so it was either something he was hiding, or something that might be from his past. As the Jonin began looking closer, he noticed that the bright red cover seemed to be shimmering slightly, as if it was some kind of Genjutsu. Tilting his head to one side, Inoichi focused on the book and tried to use his hard obtained skill to see through the illusion over it, if there was one, and, to his surprise and delight, the book's cover changed from red to pink and the shimmering faded.

Inoichi's excitement continued to grow, he was almost as big of a gossip as his wife and daughter, and pink memories dealt with strong emotions toward others. He didn't know why it was like this, but it was just one of the few constants that he had found in all the minds he had visited that had been organized enough to tell. This book could be what he was hoping to find.

Fighting down the urge to laugh, Inoichi settled into the chair and opened the book about halfway through; hoping to find the most recent entry, but only saw blank pages. His brow creasing in frustration, Inoichi began flipping backwards through the pages, frantically searching for the last entry. On and on he went, drawing ever closer to the first pages of the book, and Kai's memory, as his frustration began shifting to concern.

Finally, Inoichi found himself on the first page of the book, and found it to be blank. Inoichi looked over to the meditating Genin with concern; there was nothing in this book, which meant that Kai had never felt anything beyond friendship with anyone, or at least not since his memory had been erased. The Jonin now knew that there was no trace of Kai's memory anywhere inside his mindscape. Emotional memories are always the most durable and tend to last even after a mind wipe. It seemed like Hito had definitely known what he was doing.

But it still didn't make any sense that there was nothing at all in this book. At his age, he should at least be thinking something about girls. Even if it wasn't a girl's name, there should be _something_ in the book. Inoichi was about to give up when he noticed a small line towards the top of the page, so small that he wasn't surprised he didn't immediately see it. It wasn't much wider than his fingernail was thick, but Inoichi could tell that it was the writing he had been looking for.

Leaning closer to the book, Inoichi tried to read the words written there, but was unable to make them out. In desperation, the Jonin pressed his face against the book, trying to get as close as possible in hopes of reading it, and found himself flying face-forward into the pages.

--

Groaning, Inoichi raised his hand to his forehead, trying to massage away the headache he had developed over the last hour. He cursed himself for his stupidity. It was fairly obvious what had happened, once he had done it. In his extreme curiosity, he had managed to enter Kai's memory, but that had been an hour ago.

The Jonin had spent the past hour reliving Kai's memory of his battle within his mind, or at least everything that had happened after Ino had arrived. Inoichi had been able to force himself out of the memory shortly after the two Genin had begun searching through the memories, but it had cost him in chakra. It would only be a matter of minutes before he was forcefully recalled back to his own body, and he needed to wake up Kai before then, or he risked sending the boy into another, possibly permanent, coma.

Dragging himself out of his chair, Inoichi slowly walked over to the bookshelf and replaced the pink book where he had found it where it changed back to its shimmering red color. He had come to the conclusion that Kai wasn't sure about his feelings for Ino yet, but they were there, as the memory Inoichi had experienced clearly demonstrated. The writing was so small because Kai's didn't know how he felt about Ino, and the reason it had been red instead of pink was because Kai was trying to hide his thoughts on Ino from Inoichi, and emotion, known or not, counted as thoughts.

As the Jonin stumbled over to Kai to wake him up he smiled. He did know one thing though. The words on the page had been his daughter's name, and he now had a juicy bit of information that he could use to indulge in a one of hid favorite pastimes, teasing his daughter relentlessly. The next few days were going to be fun.

--

Sarutobi was beginning to get worried. Inoichi and Kai had been unconscious for several hours, and it didn't take someone with Hokage-level skills to tell that Inoichi was running low on chakra. His paperwork had been finished a few hours before, thanks to help from a few dozen _Kage Bunshin_, and all he was left to do was read his Icha Icha books and wait for Inoichi to wake up and give his report.

Something had to have happened, that was the only possible explanation, but Inoichi was too smart to let something like that happen. Unless, that is, he found something relating to Ino in Kai's mind. Then there could be trouble.

Suddenly, Sarutobi was pulled out of his thoughts abruptly by a groan coming from Inoichi. He quickly put his book into a drawer and rushed around his desk to help Inoichi sit up, "What happened in there, you've been out for nearly four hours."

"Sorry," Inoichi said, accepting the Hokage's help before adjusting himself in his seat, "I finished identifying what Jutsu I could before I found something interesting, and made a stupid mistake."

Sarutobi rolled his eyes, this was exactly what he had feared, "Could you be more specific?"

Inoichi smiled, "I found out that Kai has feelings for my daughter, Ino."

Sarutobi sighed, "I could have told you that based on how he reacts when anyone mentions her name."

Inoichi blushed slightly, but recovered and said, "But he doesn't know how he feels. He knows something is there, but he hasn't recognized it as what it is yet."

"So you nearly put yourself and Kai into a coma just because you wanted a little piece of gossip?" Sarutobi was slightly irritated by this news. He had hoped that Inoichi hadn't done something stupid like this without any real reason, but it appeared that that wasn't the case.

Inoichi, however, shook his head, "No Hokage-sama, I did get some useful information out of it, but it isn't good news, although it is hardly unexpected."

Sarutobi sobered quickly and frowned, guessing what Inoichi was going to say, "So there is absolutely no hope to recover his memories, even with your help?"

Inoichi shook his head again, "I'm afraid not. Kai had manifested his memories as books on a bookshelf, and the one I looked through represented his emotional attachments for others over the course of his lifetime. The book was completely blank except for my daughter's name on the first page written so small that I was pulled into his memory when I tried to read it. That is why it took so long. Emotional memories are the ones that tend to remain even through amnesia, but they were completely gone. So unless Kai grew up as emotionless as one of Danzo's Root ANBU, there is no chance of recovering his memory, and I'm afraid that this was his last chance."

The two were startled by a sudden sob, "Well," Kai said, as he opened his eyes and sat up, "I guess I shouldn't have expected anything better. But it doesn't matter anyway." Kai had only heard the last sentence that the Jonin had spoken, but it was more than enough for him.

"I'm sorry Kai," Inoichi said, any thoughts of immediate teasing and tormenting put to the side for now, "I know how much you were hoping for some answers."

Kai shook his head, "It's alright Inoichi, the Jutsu help is more than enough. You don't need to worry about my memories."

Inoichi smiled weakly, he knew that the news bothered Kai more than he was letting on, and the Jonin couldn't blame him. Kai may have accepted that his memories weren't recoverable, but that didn't mean that he hadn't jumped at another chance.

Kai bowed to the two older ninja, "If you'll excuse me Inoichi, Sarutobi-sensei; I need to get home, it is long past my usual bedtime." Kai smiled widely, almost as if he was imitating Naruto, but Sarutobi could see the sadness in his eyes.

"Alright Kai," Sarutobi nodded, not wanting to put the Genin through anything else for one day, "get some rest, you'll probably need it."

Kai turned toward the door to the Hokage's office and slowly made his way out, completely missing Sarutobi's frown, which was mirrored almost exactly by Inoichi, although neither Shinobi was thinking the same thing.

--

AN: Another boring chapter. I can promise a little action in the next one though. I hope my introduction of the Sand Sibs was good enough for you all. They are only the first of several characters that will have to be introduced in the next few chapters.

Jutsu List:

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shadow Clone Technique

_Shintenshin no Jutsu:_ Mind Body Switch Technique

_Kage Bunshin_: Shadow Clone

Anyone who knows the Naruto storyline should know what is coming up. Please review.


	13. Chapter 13

--

Chapter 13

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or his series, video games, action figures, card game, or anything else that is directly associated with the above mentioned items other than Kai and all things immediately associated with him.

AN: One more preview chapter before I get into the meat of another arc. Enjoy.

--

"Hey oni-san!" Naruto called out when he caught sight of Kai's approaching figure, "Good Morning!"

"Good Morning Naruto," Kai shouted back as he stepped onto the bridge. As he drew closer to his teammates he nodded to Sasuke, who nodded back, and completely ignored Sakura's gaze, "I know it is a stupid question, but has there been any sign of Kakashi-sensei yet?"

"Yo," Kai and the others immediately looked up to see Kakashi sitting on one of the arches over the bridge just like he had been the day before.

"Kakashi-sensei," Sakura said, confusion evident in her voice, "you're…not late…?"

"Yeah," Kakashi shrugged before flipping off of the arch to land in the center of the bridge in front of his team, "I decided to make an early start of it today."

"So what are we going to do today Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked, eager to redeem himself after his botched missions from the day before.

Kakashi shook his head, "No missions today, I have something else just as important." Kakashi reached into his hip pouch and pulled out four pieces of paper which he looked over briefly before handing one to each of his students.

Kai studied the paper for a moment before looking up, slightly startled, "You're recommending us for the Chunin Exams?"

Kakashi nodded, "You have performed the required number of missions and I believe that your skills are up to the task."

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered, jumping into the air and pumping his fist.

"But," Kakashi said, causing Naruto to pause in his celebration, "you must realize that these forms don't obligate you to take the test. It is entirely voluntary, so you shouldn't let 

yourselves be influenced by anyone else's choices. If you don't think your ready for the test, then just don't come, but if you do, then report to room 301 of the academy tomorrow at 3:00 pm."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei," the Genin recited as Kakashi, his duty done, turned and walked a few steps before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

"So," Sasuke said, leaving the word to hang in the air, waiting for someone to fill in the silence as they all stared at their Chunin Exam entry tickets.

"Uh, I see you aren't sealing you katana any more Kai," Sakura said, trying to break both the silence and the uneasiness between herself and Kai all in one go.

"Yeah," Kai said evenly, making a point out of not looking directly at her, "Sarutobi-sensei advised me to keep it out since I know how to use it. He said I may end up needing it sooner than I thought; I guess he was talking about the Chunin Exams."

Silence one again reigned over the four Genin, all of whom were still staring at their tickets. "Well," Sasuke said, once again breaking the silence, but this time continuing, "I guess we should go our separate ways and decide if we want to do this or not…"

"Yeah," Naruto nodded with no where near his usual level of enthusiasm, "I guess I'll see you guys later." Naruto turned and walked off, soon to be followed by Sasuke and then Sakura, acting like a lost puppy even when her mind was otherwise occupied.

--

Should I take the test? Am I ready? Kai was wandering aimlessly around Konoha, his mind racing on this newest choice he had to make. He wanted to take the test, that was certain, but would he be able to do well? What would his teammates think of him if he decided not to take it? Lost in thought, Kai eventually found himself in the memorial stone clearing, the same place that his team had taken the bell test.

Sighing, Kai decided to take a break from his wandering and try meditating on the subject. Settling down on the ground next to the giant stone tablet in the middle of the clearing, Kai closed his eyes and took a deep breath, easing into a trance.

--

Kai woke suddenly from his trance, not sure why, and glanced around. Kai slowly stood up and raised his right hand to the hilt of his katana while his left hand reached behind him to stabilize the sheath. Suddenly, Kai heard some leaves rustling to his right, and quickly turned in time to see the blur of a person jumping from one tree to another.

"You may as well come out," Kai said, still keeping his hands on his blade just in case there was a threat, "I know you're there."

A dark laugh came from the trees, "Very good," a figure emerged from the trees and began walking toward Kai. The unknown person was wearing a dark cloak that covered him from head to toe except for his face which was shaded by a straw hat over his hitai-ate which marked him as a Nin from the rain village.

"Who are you?" Kai demanded as he tensed, ready to draw his katana should he need to.

"Just a fellow ninja with a message," the rain Nin said, "you shouldn't take the Chunin exams."

"And why's that?" Kai asked sarcastically, he was liking this person less and less with each moment.

"Simple," he said, lifting his arm to grasp a handle sticking out over his left shoulder, "you can't handle it, and I am here to prove that to you." The Nin suddenly dashed forward while pulling an umbrella from his back which he swung in an arc towards Kai who barely managed to get his sword out in time to block it. It seems that the Hokage had been right about him needing this sword sooner than expected.

--

Iruka didn't like his current situation. He had been shocked when the Hokage had announced the Chunin exams and all three of the new squads that had come from _his_ class had been nominated by their Jonin sensei. Not only that, but Kakashi actually challenged his knowledge on the skills of his former students. Sure they weren't his students any more, but Iruka had taught all of them except Kai for years and he knew what they would be capable of and how much they would be able to grow.

When the Hokage had suggested him testing them, he had jumped at the chance, but once he had actually thought about it, he realized that he would have to fight against his students. He would have to devise some way to disguise himself and follow each of the Genin until they were isolated before attacking them, it wouldn't be good if any villagers or other Nin involved themselves with his test.

He had spotted Kai first, walking down the street with no apparent direction in mind, seemingly lost in thought, and decided that he was as good as any. He had followed Kai to the memorial stone and carefully made his way around the clearing, but Kai's detection skills were better than expected. He had easily found his former instructor, although he didn't know it, and Iruka had been forced to push his act forward a little.

Since he had to skip the verbal intimidation that he had planned, Iruka decided to move on to the offensive portion of his plan, if words wouldn't get their chance to work, then he would have to rely on force. If only Kai wasn't so good with his katana!

--

Kai shifted his blade once more, blocking another swift strike from the umbrella wielded by the cloaked rain Nin. "Just give up Genin," Kai's opponent taunted, "you cannot best me!"

"Really," Kai said sarcastically, "let's just see about that." Kai brought the two into another deadlock but instead of trying to hold his opponent away, he just stopped pushing and stepped aside. It wasn't a move he would have tried it his opponent had been fighting with a bladed weapon, but an umbrella couldn't cut him when it brushed against him.

The rain Nin cursed as he stumbled and Kai jumped back, re-sheathing his blade in midair, and began forming handsigns, "_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!"_ The rain Nin was forced to make an uncontrolled dive to avoid the giant fireball that Kai sent his way, but the Genin wasn't about to let him recover, he had begun forming more hand signs immediately, "_Suiton: __Daibakufu no Jutsu!_" Water from the nearby stream suddenly rose into the air before rocketing towards the rain Nin who found himself unable to move, pinned against the ground that was quickly becoming mud.

Kai still wasn't finished though, quickly running though another round of seals, Kai shouted out his final technique, "_Doton: Yomi Numa!_" and slammed his hands into the ground. The rain Nin was just struggling to his feet when he began sink into the already sodden ground. Kai didn't have to use too much chakra since there was already so much water there, but it still took a toll on him in the end.

The Nin only sank up to his thighs before Kai cut the Jutsu and fell to his knees, panting in exhaustion from using three high level Jutsu in quick succession like he had. "So," he panted as he looked up, "am I still weak?"

--

Iruka was stuck almost to his waist in mud, and now Kai was taunting him? True, Kai was a lot stronger than Iruka had counted on, but that didn't mean that he was down for the count. He still had the use of his arms, and Kai was exhausted. Iruka wouldn't hurt the Genin, but he would definitely have to give him a scare, and he had just the trick to do it.

--

"Oh yes," Kai looked up as the rain Nin started talking with scorn and sarcasm dripping from his words, "you are strong, but are you strong enough to handle this!" Kai pulled himself back to his feet as the Nin hurled his umbrella into the air, where it opened and began spinning about twenty-five feet over their heads. Warily eyeing the floating accessory but still keeping tabs on the Nin with his other senses, Kai drew his katana once again and took a defensive stance.

The rain Nin formed a quick hand sign and released a pulse of chakra, causing the umbrella to start emitting large clouds of smoke from its underside. As Kai watched, kunai began raining from the umbrella, but they were all aimed at him. Kai panicked slightly and jumped to 

the side, but the rain of knives just followed him, leaving a stream of projectiles imbedded in the ground where he had been.

Kai was forced to keep moving in order to avoid being turned into a pincushion. This was not what he had expected. The Nin had hidden sealing scrolls in the umbrella and was guiding the trajectory of the knives from his position. Kai thought about trying to get to the Nin, but decided against it. Any time he changed direction, the stream of kunai would follow him in a way that put it between him and his attacker.

Kai had only one option, and he would pay for it later. Once again sheathing his blade in mid jump, Kai reached into his hip pouch and pulled out three shuriken. "That won't do you any good," the rain Nin taunted once more, "there are far too many kunai for your shuriken to get to any possible target, no matter how good you may be."

Kai smirked and jumped back once more before throwing the shuriken into the air and forming a quick seal, "_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" The three shuriken doubled, then tripled, then quadrupled, and then they hit the stream of kunai. Kai continued pumping chakra into his Jutsu as he moved once more to avoid the deflected blades. Finally, the rain of blades stopped and Kai heard a thump as the now holey umbrella fell to the ground.

The Genin dropped to his knees again and looked over to where his opponent was trapped, only to find a hole in the ground. Kai cursed as he forced himself to his feet once more and extended his senses, trying to locate the man. Unable to find him, Kai cursed once again and shouted, "You think that this will stop me? There is no way I can back down now! I'll show you, and everyone else who ever thought I wouldn't be able to make it! I'll take the Chunin Exams, and I'll pass!"

--

Iruka shook his head. His plan had failed. Not only had he not managed to dissuade Kai from taking the exams, it seemed like he had actually solidified his resolve to take it in the first place. Sighing softly, Iruka watched as Kai stumbled back toward Konoha, probably back to his apartment, surely the rest of Iruka's former students would be easier to convince than this. This loss wouldn't matter if Iruka was able to scare away one of Kai's teammates. If one of them didn't show up, then none of them would be able to take the test. This way, everything could still work out. Besides, Iruka shouldn't have any trouble beating Naruto or Sakura, right?

--

Kai was waiting outside the academy around three o'clock the next day, hoping that his teammates would show up. He didn't know what he would do if he was the only one who decided to take the test. It would be very nerve racking, that's for sure.

"Kai," Sasuke said as he walked up, "glad to see you decided to come along."

"Wouldn't miss it Sasuke," Kai grinned.

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura squealed as she sprinted over to them and attached herself to Sasuke once more, "So has Naruto showed up yet?"

"No," Kai shook his head as he glared at Sakura, still slightly angry with her, "not y…"

"Oni-san, Sasuke, Sakura-chan," the three Genin turned and saw Naruto jogging up to them in his usual overly-bright orange jumpsuit and infectious smile, "were you waiting for me?"

"You're the last one to show up Naruto," Sakura said sarcastically, "so the answer is yes."

Naruto was unfazed by Sakura's statement, "Alright then, let's go." Kai shook his head. He almost wished he could be as oblivious to other people's statements as Naruto was; although Kai knew that Naruto really wasn't that thick-headed, he just hid it very well. Kai really couldn't say whether that was good or bad.

Squad 7 started walking toward the front door of the academy as a group, a very silent group. Sakura was looking between Sasuke and Kai, with her gaze reflecting total admiration and confusion respectfully, while trying to think of some way to break the silence once more. "So," she started the same way that Sasuke had the day before, hoping someone else would pick up the conversation, but when no one did, she continued on her own, "I was attacked by a Nin from the rain village yesterday."

The three boys stopped short, "What did you say?" Naruto questioned the now red faced kunoichi.

"I said that I was attacked by a rain Nin yesterday after we split up. It wasn't anything much, the guy was really a pushover, it seemed like he was tired or something, but I didn't even report it to the ANBU," Sakura explained, looking at her three teammates with confusion written all over her face.

"I didn't either," Sasuke said quietly.

Kai glanced over at him, "I didn't either. All that really happened was that he taunted me, told me that I shouldn't take the test, we fought, I beat him, and he disappeared."

"So we all fought a rain Nin," Naruto said, glancing from teammate to teammate, "possibly even the same one."

"I smell something fishy," Sasuke grumbled as he sneered, "I knew something wasn't right about that guy."

"He might have been a test to make sure we were ready for the Chunin exams," Sakura said into the silence once more, "I mean, we are some of the youngest here."

Kai nodded, "That definitely makes sense Sakura…"

Naruto interrupted him, "And if we don't get in there now, we're going to be late!" Naruto was pointing to the clock standing outside the door to the academy, the clock showed two thirty.

"We have time oni-san," Kai said, looking at Naruto quizzically.

"You never know what could happen though," Naruto responded, his face anxious and excited, "Besides, I want to get in there and check out the competition."

Kai chuckled, which broke the tense mood that had been hanging over the Genin, "Naruto is right," Sasuke said, "let's go." Sasuke started off toward the building again, closely followed by Sakura, while Naruto immediately followed him while trying, somewhat discreetly, to find an opening to get in front of him. Kai chuckled again and followed his teammates.

--

"Please let us through, we're supposed to go in there," Kai heard a girl say just before a slap resounded through the room. Kai and his teammates rushed forward in time to see two ninja wearing outfits similar to civilian clothes, except both wore hitai-ate and one had a sword strapped to his back, standing in front of a girl wearing a Konoha hitai-ate with a pink shirt and green pants with her hair wound into two tight buns, one on each side of her head, and a boy in a bright green jumpsuit who Kai couldn't see very well who were both lying on the ground as if they had been knocked down. Kai saw a red mark on the girl's cheek and had to fight down his rage. No one should ever hit a girl unless they were an attacking Nin, and this didn't seem like a situation where the girl had been attacking.

"You should be thanking us," the Nin with the sword said, "by not letting you in, we are protecting you. There have been Genin who have died taking these exams, its no place for little girls. We've both seen it before in our past attempts at taking the exam." The last part was said with a sneer to the Konoha kunoichi who was lying on the ground, holding one hand to her reddened cheek.

"Kai," Sasuke whispered, "take a look at the room sign."

Kai glanced up, "I see it," there was a weak Genjutsu on the sign. It said that they were outside room 301, but they had only gone up one flight of steps. Whoever had designed the academy with the steps on alternating ends of the building was crazy.

Sasuke nodded and led the way through the crowd, "Out of the way, we've got an exam to take." The people that they passed looked at them quizzically, some of them seemed to realize where they were and turned to whisper to their friends before following Squad 7 through the rest of the crowd.

When Sasuke emerged from the crowd, he found the sword-wearing Genin's companion standing in front of him, "Where do you think you're going?"

"To the third floor," Sasuke said, leveling his patented Uchiha glare on the Genin in front of him, "where the Chunin exams are being held."

"Really," the Genin said as his sword-bearing partner approached, "you're going to have to get through us to prove that you're worthy to take the test."

"Not a problem," Sasuke smirked. The Genin, his face contorting slightly as his anger grew, drew back his fist and threw a punch at Sasuke's face, but the Uchiha was too quick. Sasuke ducked slightly and brought his hands up to catch the Genin's arm as his fist went right over his head. Then, Sasuke twisted the Genin's arm around and pulled his attacker with it, ending up holding the boy's arm behind his back, still twisting it painfully.

At this point, the other Genin decided to try and step in. Drawing his sword, the Genin started to step forward to help free his comrade, but stopped short, finding the point of Kai's katana at his throat. "Don't move," Kai said coldly, his eyes not showing any emotion as he examined the swordsman in front of him.

"You need to stop," the Genin in the green jumpsuit said as he walked over and stood next to Sasuke and Kai, "otherwise you will be disqualified before the test even begins."

"He's right oni-san," Naruto spoke up as he and Sakura stepped forward, "we really need to get going."

There was a tense silence in the air, "Fine," Sasuke finally spoke up as he released his opponent's arm and pushed him away. The Genin stumbled for a second before turning back and dusting himself off and self-consciously cradling his sore arm. The Genin at Kai's sword point took a tentative step back and slowly sheathed his sword as Kai did the same without taking his glare off of the boy's face.

Sasuke humphed as he continued walking down the hallway toward the far stairs to the third floor, followed by Naruto and Sakura, but Kai hung back for a second. Kai took a short step up to the sword-wielding Genin and stared right in his eyes, "You don't hit women," and just walked off after his teammates.

--

The two Genin walked into room 201 after the crowd had dispersed and closed the door behind them before turning to each other. "Quite the crop this year," the sword wielder said as he brought his hands up into a hand sign.

"The exams are definitely going to be interesting," the other said as he formed a seal as well. Then, at the same time, the two released a burst of chakra and were engulfed in clouds of smoke which cleared to reveal two older Nin wearing Chunin flak jackets.

"Very interesting indeed..."

--

Kai arrived on the third floor in time to find his teammates standing face to face with three other Genin. One of them was the boy with the green jumpsuit who had broken up the potential fight and another was the girl who had gotten smacked by the Genin on the floor below. Standing between them was a boy dressed in a tan shirt with dark colored shorts. He had bandages wrapped around his right arm and leg and wore his Hitai-ate on his forehead over his pure white eyes that marked him as a Hyuga.

Kai seemed to have arrived just in time since the Hyuga had just started talking, "What's your name Uchiha?"

As Kai walked up to stand next to Naruto on Sasuke's left, the Uchiha smirked back at the still unnamed Hyuga, "It's common courtesy to give your own name before asking someone else's."

The Hyuga sneered, "You're a rookie aren't you, how old are you anyway?"

Sasuke continued his smirk and shifted his stance slightly, defiance radiating from him, "I'm not obliged to answer."

"What's that?" the Hyuga was getting mad but the girl giggled softly as if this whole thing was a big joke to her.

"Neji," the green jumpsuit Genin said, bringing Kai's attention to him, "we do not have the time for a confrontation. We need to get to the exam room." Now that Kai actually got a good look at the boy he saw what a freak he was. If the green jumpsuit wasn't enough, the boy had a haircut that made his head look twice its normal size and eyebrows that made any look the boy made seem at least slightly funny.

"I know Lee," Neji Hyuga said as he turned, "come on Tenten, let's go. We don't have time to fool around with rookies anyway."

Tenten turned to follow Neji, but paused and turned once more to face Kai and said, "Thanks."

Kai smiled slightly, "Not a problem, but unless I miss my guess, you didn't need any help." Tenten blushed, realizing that she had been found out, and ran to catch up with her teammates.

"What was that about oni-san?" Naruto asked.

"Yeah," Sasuke said, his smirk being betrayed by a smile in his eyes, "I thought you liked Ino."

Kai blushed, but quickly shook his head, "That girl and her team are stronger than they are letting on."

"Everyone we meet here is likely to be hiding their true power unless we meet them in battle Kai," Sakura said matter-of-factly.

"That is true Sakura," Kai said, "but I was referring to letting herself get hit like she did. That Lee guy probably did the same."

"As much fun as this is," Sasuke interrupted just as Sakura was about to respond, "but as Naruto has reminded us repeatedly, we really need to get to the exam room." Kai nodded and continued down the hall but Sasuke wasn't about to let him get away without another joke, "Besides, Kai needs to see if Ino is in there or not." Kai was glad that he was walking ahead of their group; that way, no one else could see his bright red face.

--

As Squad 7 approached the door to room 301 they found their path suddenly cut off by a cloud of smoke and swirling leaves. "Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, "what are you doing here."

Kakashi smiled, "Congratulating you four on being accepted to take the Chunin exams."

"But didn't that already happen?" Sakura asked.

"No," Kakashi shook his head, "those tickets showed that you were eligible, but if you hadn't all come as a team, then you wouldn't have been able to take the test at all. But I am not sure how the Hokage would have worked it out for you since there are four Genin on your squad…" Kakashi trailed off for a moment before coming back to his senses, "Anyway, congratulations and good luck."

Kakashi disappeared just as suddenly as he had appeared and Squad 7 turned toward the door before walking in with Sasuke in the lead. As they entered room 301, they immediately found every eye in the room resting on them. It was only for a second, but Kai felt like that second lasted an eternity. Maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all…

"Well it looks like the entire rookie ten made it to the Chunin exams."

Kai turned and saw Shikamaru walking up with his team close behind him and waved, "Shikamaru, how are you doing?"

"I can't complain I guess," Shikamaru shrugged, "at least, not more than I usually do."

Kai laughed lightly and turned his attention to the lazy Genin's teammates, "Hey Choji, Ino, how are you two doing?"

Choji paused in his chip munching long enough to give his own greeting, "fine, you?"

"Training is tough, but I've managed to survive," Kai smiled.

"I know what you mean," Ino said, "Asuma-sensei has been working us to the bone these last few days."

Naruto stepped up next to Kai, "Really? Kakashi-sensei just left us to train on our own, or not in the case of some people," he glanced purposefully over to Sakura as he finished talking, seeming to forget that Ino was one of her friends, even though they were rivals.

"And what did you do with your free time Naruto?" Ino questioned.

Naruto blushed, "I trained…some…"

"Yeah," Kai laughed, unable to resist the opening, "when you weren't at Ichiraku Ramen."

Naruto blushed but immediately shook it off and started scratching the back of his head as he laughed along, "True, but I still got in my fair share of training, just not as much as you or Sasuke."

"You think you've been training hard, you should have seen our work," Kiba walked up with Akamaru firmly settled on his head.

"Hi Naruto-kun," Hinata said quietly from behind Kiba.

"Hey Hinata, how have you been?" Naruto responded cheerfully.

"Alright…" Hinata trailed off and blushed.

"You know you're attracting an awful lot of attention don't you?" A voice said from Kai's right. He turned and saw a man wearing a dark blue vest with a white T-shirt showing from underneath. He had on pants of the same dark blue as his shirt and his waist was wrapped several times with bandages. As he approached them he pushed his glasses up higher on his nose so that the tops of the large lenses were overlapping his Konoha hitai-ate underneath his light blue hair. "You are the rookies here, and you shouldn't make yourselves any enemies this early."

"And who are you?" Ino asked when the Nin stopped in front of them and crossed his arms.

"My name is Yakushi Kabuto; I am a Konoha Genin like you," Kabuto replied.

"And why are you trying to help us?" Kai said, slightly suspicious. He didn't know if the others had realized it yet, but Kai knew that they wouldn't be able to trust anyone they didn't already know, no matter what village they were from. Once the exam got underway, it would be team against team, and most alliances wouldn't stand up to that test.

"You all remind me of myself a few years ago," Kabuto replied with a smile and pushed his glasses up again.

"Oh," Sakura said, stepping forward, "have you taken the exam before?"

Kabuto nodded, "Yeah, I have taken it two times a year, twice a year; this will be my eight Chunin exam so far."

Naruto jumped up, excited, "That means that you can help us!"

"No he can't," Shikamaru interrupted, "he hasn't passed yet, so his experiences can't be worth much."

"Actually," Kabuto said as he reached into his hip pouch and withdrew a stack of cards, "I might be able to. These cards contain all the information that I have collected since I graduated from the academy. At first glance they may be blank cards, "he pulled on off the top and showed its blank surface, "but when I add my chakra to it…" Kabuto knelt in front of Kai and the others, who gathered close around him and watched as he put the card on the ground and placed one finger in the center. Kabuto then began focusing his chakra into the card. Kai watched as the card immediately began spinning rapidly until Kabuto stopped the chakra flow, and by that time, the card was no longer blank.

"You see," Kabuto said as he picked up the card, which now showed a map and graph, "this card shows the countries that have sent Nin to this particular exam. Most of the Shinobi here are form Konoha, but there are also participants from Kumogakure, Sunagakure, Amegakure, Kusagakure, and Otogakure."

"Those cards," Sasuke said when Kabuto finished his speech, "do they have any information about specific people?"

Kabuto nodded, "I should have something on just about anyone, just give me a name, what they look like, or where they are from, anything at all really, and I should be able to get their card."

Sasuke smiled, "How about Lee of Konoha and Sabaku no Gaara of Suna."

Kabuto pouted, "That's no fun, you know their names and homes, oh well," Kabuto focused chakra into the deck and waited. As Kai watched, two cards slowly rose out of the deck and Kabuto cut his chakra flow and pulled them the rest of the way out before kneeling once more.

"Alright, Lee…" Kabuto said as he repeated the revealing process on one of the cards, "Rock Lee graduated one year before you all along with his teammates Neji Hyuga and Tenten. He has been on eleven C rank missions and twenty D rank missions. He almost exclusively uses Taijutsu, which has radically improved over the last year, but the rest of his skills are no quite up to par. His team could have taken the Chunin exam last year, but they decided to wait until now. As for Sabaku no Gaara," Kabuto replaced Lee's card and activated the other one, "he has been on eight C rank missions, one B rank mission, and an unknown number of D rank missions. I don't really have anything else about him except that he has come back from every one of his missions, including the B rank, without a scratch on him."

Well that was certainly something. It was rare enough for a Nin to return from a mission without taking any damage, but for a Genin to take a B rank mission and not get injured was extraordinary. Kai decided to make his own request, "Do you have information about people not in a ninja village, or not at the Chunin exams?" Naruto and Sasuke looked over at him while Sakura took a small step closer to Sasuke, trying to put herself between him and Ino.

Kabuto raised one eyebrow, "No, I'm sorry. My information is limited to the exam participants and ninja villages."

"Then what about him?" Kiba said pointing at Kai, "what do you have on Wareta Kai?" Kai stiffened. He had been very closemouthed about his training and missions. In fact, other than his teammates, Ino was the only person without an official position that knew anything about them, but she didn't know anything about his most recent training. Kiba must have been driven by curiosity to try and find out Kai's secrets another way. And, now that Kai looked around, the rest of the rookie 10 were all staring intently at Kabuto, except for Ino who knew more than everyone else anyway, Choji who was focused on eating, and Shikamaru who just looked bored, almost begging for a positive answer.

Kabuto seemed slightly overwhelmed for a moment before he replaced Gaara's card and said, "Hang on, I'll see what I have," Kabuto focused once more and Kai found himself beginning to sweat. Then, after a moment that seemed like an eternity, a card began rising from Kabuto's deck, "Here we go," Kabuto kneeled down once more and activated the card.

After a moment, Kabuto stood back up and glanced down at the card, reading it silently. "Well?" Kiba said, "Anything?"

Kabuto waited a moment longer before he looked up and said, "Sorry, I was just reading the card, it really is interesting. According to this Kai here is the final member of the first four man Genin team since Konoha was founded. He has been on twenty-two D rank mission and one C rank turned A rank. On this A rank mission, he was responsible for defeating at least fifty mercenaries on his own. He seems to prefer fighting with his katana or shuriken, but his Taijutsu skills aren't something to laugh at, and his Ninjutsu skill is above average, but he doesn't seem to use Genjutsu very much. Is this all fairly accurate?"

Kai grimaced when the attention of the group around him, as well as several Genin standing nearby, was fixed upon him. Kai laughed nervously, "Uh, yeah…pretty much…"

Murmuring immediately broke out around Kai as the Genin processed the new information. Kai just wanted to disappear. In a desperate attempt to take the attention off of him at least partially, Kai decided to take the conversation in another direction, "You said that one of the villages participating this year is the Hidden Sound Village, I've never heard of them before."

Kabuto gave Kai a pitying look before he said, "They are a newly formed village, so it really isn't surprising that you don't know about them. They actually only have one team in the exams this year, and, between you and me, I wouldn't expect them to be too strong."

Just as Kabuto finished talking, Kai felt a breeze as several people dashed past him toward Kabuto. One of the figures jumped into the air and flung a kunai at Kabuto, who managed to jump back in time to dodge it. Just as he landed, however, a second person appeared right in front of him and swung his fist at Kabuto's head. The Konoha Genin displayed his speed once more however, because he leaned back just enough for the punch to miss him.

Kabuto smirked, "Nice try…" but before he could finish his taunting his glasses suddenly cracked. The Genin who attacked Kabuto smirked and jumped back to stand next to his teammate who had thrown the kunai and a girl who was standing next to him. All three of them were wearing black and white camouflage pants, but the girl had a flak jacket, the boy who had thrown the kunai was wearing a tan shirt, and the one who had punched Kabuto was wearing a light blue trench coat with sleeves that covered his hands and bandages around the rest of his body. All three of them were wearing hitai-ate with a musical note on them.

Just then, Kabuto doubled over and began puking up his breakfast. "But how" Kiba shouted, "I saw him dodge that guy's attack!"

The bandaged Oto Genin laughed, "You're not so tough after all are you Glasses? Write this on your cards: The Oto Genin are going to be Chunin when this is all over!"

As Kabuto struggled back to his feet with Sakura's help an explosion went off in the front of the room. "Alright Genin," a voice said as the smoke cleared to reveal a man wearing all black with a black trench coat and his hitai-ate on his head like a bandana, "I am Morino Ibiki, and from this moment, I am your proctor for the first exam and you worst enemy!"

--

AN: Chapter 13 and the initial setup for the Chunin exams have been completed. The next chapter should cover the first and most, if not all, of the second exams. For anyone who is wondering about Kai's virtuous behavior, I just expanded on his personality that was hinted at in the Wave arc when Tsunami was about to be abducted. I gave Kai this personality because it follows with my own beliefs.

Jutsu List:

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Suiton: __Daibakufu no Jutsu:_ Water Style: Great Waterfall Technique

_Doton: Yomi Numa:_ Earth Style: Swamp of the Underworld

_Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique

Kumogakure: Hidden Cloud Village

Sunagakure: Hidden Sand Village

Amegakure: Hidden Rain Village

Kusagakure: Hidden Grass Village

Otogakure: Hidden Sound Village

Hope everyone is enjoying the story. Please remember to review.


	14. Chapter 14

--

Chapter 14

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto… stop bugging me…

AN: I am once again getting into sections of the story that I have at least thought about a little. For the last few chapters I have just been reviewing the show and pretty much winging it. I hope that all my readers enjoy the Chunin exams!

--

"Everyone come up here and take a number, then check one of the lists on the blackboard and find your seats. Move it!" Ibiki barked, immediately sending the Genin into frantic movement, none of them wanting to get on his bad side. Kai was quickly caught up in the rush and lost track of his teammates until he finally found his seat, about halfway up the tiered classroom toward the right end of the row. As he looked around, he spotted Sasuke a few rows ahead him and to the left side, and Sakura sitting on the opposite side of the room from them. After a few more minutes, he spotted Naruto sitting in the front of the room off to the left side with Hinata sitting right next to him.

Before he was able to find anyone else though, Ibiki started talking again, "In a few moments, these Chunin will hand out the tests. There will be ten questions on this test. You will have forty-five minutes to answer the first nine questions, once that time has passed, I will give you the tenth question for you to answer during the last fifteen minutes. The test will be based on your answers to the questions out of ten possible points. Passing or failing will be based on the scores of you and your teammates. If one teammate fails, then the entire team fails. There will be no cheating allowed. If you are caught cheating, you will lose two points. If you get caught five times, or in other words, if you run out of points, you and your teammates will be immediately disqualified."

Once Ibiki finished talking, several Nin wearing Chunin jackets began walking up and down each row, handing out tests and pencils as they went, placing the papers face down in front of each Genin. "Now begin!" Ibiki shouted once the Chunin finished and returned to their seats around the outside of the room. There was an immediate rustling as the Genin all flipped their tests over and picked up their pencils.

Kai read the first question: Calculate the distance traveled by a kunai thrown at a forty-five degree angle into a thirty mile-an-hour wind, traveling at an initial velocity of eighty feet per second. Kai paused and looked over the question again, not sure that he had read it correctly.

But he had. These questions were way above the level of the Genin here, except maybe the brainy ones like Sakura. There was no way that they could be expected to know the answers.

Panicking slightly, Kai looked up and saw that more than half of the Genin in the room appeared to be in a similar situation. There had to be something he could answer on this test. Kai 

quickly looked back down and flipped through the test, hoping to find at least one of the nine questions that he would be able to answer. By the time he got to the end of the packet, Kai felt his spirits sinking. There was no way that he would be able to answer any of these questions, his team was going to be disqualified because he couldn't answer anything.

Looking back up, Kai glanced around the room once again. There were fewer students looking around now, in fact, many of the students had their heads down, working frantically. It may have been that some of them actually understood what one of the questions was asking, or more likely, they were all hoping that one of their guesses would be right enough to give them at least one point.

Kai was about to resign himself to the same when he caught sight of Sasuke slowly looking around the room. When his face came into view, Kai caught sight of the Sharingan that he had unlocked in Wave. Then, Sasuke's eyes widened slightly and he smirked before he began writing without looking at his paper. Kai followed his teammate's line of sight and saw he was copying the movements of another Genin who was sitting in front of him. Sasuke was cheating! If he got caught…but he wouldn't, would he. No one would be able to tell that he was using his Sharingan unless they knew him like his teammates did.

Wait a second, maybe that was the answer. They were supposed to cheat; they just needed to do it in a way so that they wouldn't get caught. Kai looked around the room once more before looking down at his test again. When he looked back up, he had his Miraigan activated. Now all he had to do was figure out how he could use it to help find him the answers.

Kai took a deep breath and forced himself to relax. He needed to calm down or he wouldn't be able to do anything. The Genin began increasing the flow of chakra and watched as the world sped by him in a silent fast-forward. Kai saw different Genin getting caught cheating and teams getting eliminated, sending glares at their teammates who had been caught for the fifth time. Then, Kai saw Ibiki stand up and start talking. He slowed his vision so he could watch in real-time as Ibiki finished talking and the Genin all looked around. This must be when Ibiki gives the final question.

After a few seconds of waiting, one Genin raised his hand and Ibiki said something. Once he stopped talking, the Genin got up and left the room with a few others who must have been his teammates. Kai continued to look around slowly, constantly keeping in mind that what he was seeing wasn't happening right now, and watched as more and more teams got up and left, one by one.

Then, Kai saw Naruto start to raise his hand and his breath caught in his throat. Was Naruto about to give up? Was he going to disqualify himself and his team? What could possibly make Naruto even think of something like that? Then, Naruto slammed his fist down on the table and stood up, pointing toward Ibiki with his other hand, and shouted something. Kai slowly looked around and saw the faces of everyone in the room harden in determination. Ibiki smiled and said something, Kai "re-wound" his Miraigan and watched Ibiki talk again, trying to read his lips.

Kai's curiosity continued to grow and he was about to skip forward a little more when he felt something fly past his face. He immediately de-activated his Miraigan and ducked, hearing a thunk as whatever had been flying imbedded itself in the table behind him.

"Number 46, you and your team are out," a Chunin called out as he relaxed his throwing arm and sat down again. Kai realized that this was the first of the eliminations he had seen.

Kai had some thinking to do. He hadn't learned anything about the test answers, but he did know that his team wouldn't be disqualified before the end of the test, and that meant he had time.

Kai settled down in his seat, bent his head over his paper, and sank into a meditative trance. Once he arrived in his mindscape, he walked over to his memory bookshelf and pulled out a book near the bottom. Once he had it, he walked over to a chair and sat down before turning the page to the last entry.

For the next several minutes, Kai reviewed his most recent usage of the Miraigan. Once he realized what Ibiki was saying, he had to prevent himself from laughing in the middle of the test. When Kai saw Ibiki talking, he had said, "You all pass." That meant that Kai would pass no matter what he did! With that thought firmly in his mind, Kai brought himself out of his trance and settled back in his chair, being sure to look as if he was upset, and tilted his face up.

--

BAM! Kai woke with a start as Naruto slammed his hand down on the table, "No! I won't quit. I swear that I will pass this exam, and I don't go back on my word! That is my Nindo!" Kai shifted in his seat so he was sitting straight up again, blushing slightly. He hadn't intended to fall asleep, only to wait until the test ended. He just hoped that it didn't cost him or his teammates.

Ibiki stared intently at Naruto and then let his gaze travel around the rest of the Genin in the room, examining their faces one at a time before smiling, "You all pass."

The reaction was instantaneous. "What do you mean we all pass? What were the rest of the questions for if we didn't even have to answer the final question to pass?" Kai turned to identify the speaker and saw a very confused looking Temari.

"If you really want to put a name to it, then the choice to take the final question or not _was_ the tenth question," Ibiki said and Kai nodded slightly, finally putting the last unknowns into place, "The rest of the questions were to test your information gathering skills," Ibiki looked right at Kai and raised his eyebrow. Kai blushed slightly, but Ibiki ignored it and continued, "For a shinobi, information can be more valuable than anything. In the right hands, a little bit of good information can turn a bad situation around, but the same situation can be reversed just as easily," Ibiki reached up and removed his hitai-ate bandana revealing the bald top of his head, crisscrossed with scars from cuts and burns, "information can be so vital that an enemy will do anything they can do get it. Those who have information, have power."

Ibiki replaced his headband and several of the Genin sighed in relief. Kai wasn't bothered by it, but that could have had something to do with the extremely violent nature of many of the memories that Hito had left in his head. Just as Ibiki finished replacing his bandana, there was a loud crash as a window in the front of the room shattered and a woman jumped through. The woman wore a fishnet top and leggings with a tan colored trenchcoat over top that went halfway down her thighs. Her dark colored hair was cut short and was kept up out of her face by her hitai-ate.

She looked around the room before settling her gaze on Ibiki, "You've gotten softer Ibiki; there are far too many teams still here."

"You could say that," Ibiki responded, "but I believe it is just because this is an exceptionally good group of Genin."

The woman shook her head and turned to the Genin, "Alright gaki," she shouted, "I am Mitarashi Anko, and I will be your proctor for the second exam. Meet me at Training Ground 44 in one hour, and be sure to come prepared." With that said, Anko turned and jumped back out the window she had come through, leaving a roomful of Genin staring after her.

--

"That test definitely wasn't what I expected," Sakura said as she walked with her teammates toward their next exam, fuming the entire way, "I filled out all those questions for nothing."

"I didn't answer any of them," Naruto said happily, scratching the back of his head, "I didn't know any of the answers. What about you oni-san?"

Kai blushed slightly, "I…uh…well…I fell asleep."

Naruto and Sakura fell face-first onto the dirt path while Sasuke turned and looked at him quizzically. Sakura jumped back up, her face bright red with rage, "You fell asleep! You could have gotten us disqualified!"

"I didn't mean to fall asleep Sakura," Kai said harshly, rolling his eyes, "I used my Miraigan and found out that we were going to pass anyway, and then I just sat back to wait. I guess I just haven't been getting enough sleep lately so I dozed off."

Naruto got back up off the ground and turned toward Kai, "And people say I'm lucky…" Kai laughed lightly and continued walking, closely followed by Naruto and Sasuke with the still frustrated Sakura bringing up the rear.

As they approached the training grounds, Kai caught sight of the tops of trees in the distance, "Whoa, those must be some tall trees if we can see them from here." His teammates nodded in agreement and they continued their approach. By the time they arrived at their 

destination, there was already a crowd of other Chunin hopefuls waiting to hear the rules for the second exam.

Kai walked into the clearing and looked around, observing the remaining competition, and then he looked up, and up, and up. The trees were massive. Several stories high and some were so big around that it would take several people to span the distance around it. Kai continued looking around as he followed his team around the side of the crowd which was forming a semicircle around Anko.

"Welcome gaki," Anko announced, almost as soon as Squad 7 came into her view, "now that everyone is here we can begin the briefing for the second exam. You will be spending five days here in Training Area 44, otherwise known as the Forest of Death. Your goal will be to reach the tower in the exact center of the forest with two scrolls in your possession. Each team will be given one scroll, either a Heaven scroll or an Earth scroll, before you enter, and you must obtain the other type of scroll through whatever means possible. For this test, anything goes, and that includes killing." There were several gasps when Anko said this. It seemed that not everyone had taken the life threatening aspect of this test into consideration.

"But what will we do for food," Kai turned and smiled when he saw the speaker was Choji. Leave it to him to think of food at a time when his life could be on the line.

Anko smirked, "There is plenty to eat in the forest, but be careful, it isn't called the Forest of Death for nothing."

Kai shuddered; this test may end up being more dangerous than he had originally thought.

--

"Come on guys, keep moving," Kai called out, "we need to get as far as we can as fast as we can."

"We know that oni-san," Naruto said as he pushed off another tree branch with a grunt, "but not all of us have the physical endurance you do." Kai paused for a moment and examined his teammates. Sasuke looked alright, even if he was out of breath, but Naruto looked a little pale and Sakura looked like she was about to collapse.

"Sorry guys," Kai said apologetically, "there is just something about this place that has me on edge." Squad 7 had been in the forest for nearly an hour, and Kai had insisted on a fast pace as soon as they entered. They had been given an Earth scroll, which Kai sealed away in one of his storage scrolls with a blood seal on it that was tuned to himself and his teammates. Only they could unseal the scroll, so it should be safe.

"It could be the fact that our lives are potentially at risk," Sasuke said once he caught his breath, "and that none of us passes if one of us is taken out of commission."

Kai shook his head, "No, I just get the feeling that something is out of the ordinary; almost like something is watching us. Something familiar…"

"There are dozens of other Nin who would be more than happy to try and take our scroll," Sakura pointed out, trying to be helpful as she recovered from their sprint.

Kai shook his head again, "No, I don't think it is any of the Genin, but I don't know what it could be, unless there is something else in the forest…" Kai trailed off.

"Well, let's not waste time trying to figure out what has you so freaked out Kai," Naruto said, "we need to keep moving, but this time, let's make it a slower pace."

Kai nodded apologetically and gestured for Sasuke to lead, hopefully his Sharingan would help to give them a little heads up if anything came after them. Not only that, but he would probably set a more reasonable pace. Their plan was to get closer to the tower and try and get their Heaven scroll there. Their theory was that by the time the other teams got near the tower, they would be worn out and easier to beat. At least, that was the plan. Kai only hoped that it worked out that way.

--

Nearby, a figure watched Squad 7 from the shadowy treetops. It had been a simple matter to gain access to the forest, and now all he had to do was keep up with his prey and the boy would be his. It was only a matter of time now.

--

"Alright, break time," Sasuke said as he landed on a tree branch overlooking a small clearing.

"About time," Naruto complained as he led the way down the tree, "let's break out the food!"

"Or," Kai said, rolling his eyes, "we could just hold off on eating our limited supplies unless we can't find anything else to eat. We need to conserve what little we have as long as possible oni-san."

"Fine," Naruto grumbled, "but I need to go to the bathroom first."

Kai rolled his eyes, "pick a tree then." Naruto sighed and walked behind a large tree, taking himself out of his teammates' line of sight.

"Now," Sasuke said, "We know that there is a stream cutting through the forest from the map Anko showed us all before we came in. If I am right about our position, we should find it if we head that way," he pointed off toward one end of the clearing.

"That sounds good to me," Kai said, "but we will need to be quick, someone may have already set up the water as their hunting ground."

Sasuke nodded, "We will wait for Naruto to come back and then head toward the water. Once there, we will find what we can, and then get back into cover as quickly as possible."

Sakura and Kai nodded just as Naruto stumbled back into view, "Alright guys, lets go."

"Took you long enough Naruto," Sakura scolded, leveling a glare on Naruto. It was clear that Sakura was not enjoying this particular camping trip.

"I'm sorry Sakura, but a guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do," Naruto smiled, scratching the back of his head.

Sakura scowled, but Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he sent a covert glance to Kai who nodded in response. Before Naruto or Sakura could react, the two Genin jumped forward and grabbed Naruto's arms, holding him in one place before they hooked his legs and tripped him. "What are you guys doing?" Naruto shouted, "Let me up!"

"Sasuke, hold him," Kai said, and Sasuke shifted onto Naruto's chest, pinning him down, while Kai stood again and formed a few seals before calling out, "KAI!"

As the Genin watched, Naruto was engulfed in a cloud of smoke which quickly cleared to reveal a Genin wearing a tan body suit and a gas mask, "How did you know?" the Genin demanded.

"You need to study your targets more before you try to replace one of them," Kai said as he drew back his fist. Just before Kai could deliver a knock out blow, another Nin appeared out of nowhere and kicked him into Sasuke, freeing the first Genin who quickly jumped up and followed his partner out of the clearing.

Sakura hurried over to Sasuke and Kai, "Are you alright Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke grunted as Sakura jerked Kai up to his feet, mostly to get him off of Sasuke, and then helped the Uchiha to his feet a little more gently.

"I'm fine," Kai said sarcastically, "thanks for your concern. I'm going to go find Naruto. Be right back." Kai walked behind the tree and found Naruto bound and gagged, but thankfully with his pants pulled up.

"What are we going to do with you oni-san," Kai said jokingly as he pulled out a kunai and cut Naruto's bindings.

"Thanks Kai," Naruto said, rubbing his wrists, "that guy got the jump on me. Did anyone get hurt?"

Kai laughed a little as he and Naruto turned to walk back to their teammates, "No, he made one mistake that clearly identified him as an imposter."

"What?" Naruto asked, tilting his head to one side.

"He called Sakura, Sakura, and not Sakura-chan," Kai grinned, "you are so obsessed with her that I knew it couldn't have been you."

Naruto playfully punched Kai in the shoulder, "oh yeah, well maybe I will have to start quizzing you on Ino if you disappear for more than a few seconds."

Kai blushed as they entered the clearing, immediately attracting the attention of Sasuke and Sakura. "Prove it's you," Sasuke demanded, taking a defensive stance with Sakura standing close behind him, a worried look on her face.

"I could ask the same of you," Kai said, "show your Dojutsu, I will do the same."

Sasuke nodded and activated his Sharingan while Kai activated his Miraigan. "Alright, "Sasuke said, relaxing, "let's get going, our plans still haven't changed."

Kai however, was gazing intently toward the center of the clearing. Sasuke noticed this, "What do you see Kai?"

Kai shook his head, "We need to get out of here, now. Go!" Kai quickly turned and jumped into the trees, heading away from the clearing as fast as he could travel, and leaving his teammates in a stunned silence. They didn't wait long though, Kai had seen something with his bloodline that had given him a scare, and they didn't want to wait around to find out what it was.

--

The figure smirked from his hidden vantage point. These children thought they could escape him? They may have gotten away before he could strike this time, but that wouldn't be the case the next time he decided to attack He would catch them, no matter how much they ran. It was only a matter of time.

--

"That was good," Naruto happily sighed, patting his full stomach. Squad 7 had been in the forest for two days, with no signs of any other teams and no sign that whatever Kai had seen was following them. They were sitting around a small camp fire with traps all around their small clearing so they could eat their freshly caught fish in relative peace, or at the very least with a smaller possibility of them being caught off guard.

"You know what would have made it better Naruto," Sakura asked with a huge smile that was betrayed by the anger and hostility in her eyes, "if you had actually caught some of them yourself!"

"You really can't talk Sakura," Kai said with a small sneer, "you only caught one of them."

"And I only ate one," Sakura countered with a superior look on her face, "I am on a diet after all." She turned and gave a sickeningly sweet smile to Sasuke, but the Uchiha just turned away from her.

"Come on," Sasuke said as he rose from his seat, let's take these traps down and get going. We still need to get our second scroll."

"I could help you with that."

Squad 7 quickly turned and saw a Kusa Genin standing at the edge of their clearing, observing them with a smirk on her face. She was simply standing on the edge of the clearing while she studied the four Genin who were scrambling to their feet in front of her.

"Who are you?" Naruto demanded.

The woman just continued talking as if Naruto had never spoken, "You see, I have a Heaven scroll," she pulled out a scroll, "and I know that you have an Earth scroll."

Sakura smirked, "You should just give us the scroll. There are four of us and only one of you; it will save you a lot of trouble that way."

The Genin didn't seem impressed though, "I don't think I have anything to worry about little girl."

"What did you call me?" Sakura screamed, but once again the woman ignored her.

"Besides," she continued once again, "I know I can hold you off until my teammate gets here." With that she held the scroll up in front of her face and opened her mouth. Kai watched as an impossibly long tongue snaked out and wrapped around the scroll before drawing it back inside her mouth. With a gulp and a smile, the woman swallowed her Heaven scroll, "Now you will have to kill me to get the scroll."

"Whatever is necessary," Sasuke said as he sank into a defensive crouch, "bring it on." Kai followed Sasuke's example, placing his hand on his katana and sinking into a crouch, but Naruto and Sakura seemed a little hesitant.

The woman laughed, "Oh dear, it seems that your teammates aren't all behind you Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke stiffened, "How do you know my name."

"I can't tell you that Sasuke-kun," the woman said, still smiling as she brought her hand up to her face, "but I'm sure you will find out on your own soon enough." The woman grabbed her lower eyelid and pulled it down, simultaneously releasing a pulse of chakra, and Kai found himself unable to move.

--

Now things were getting interesting. The figure watched from his newest treetop perch as the Kusa Genin swallowed her scroll and then placed the other Genin in a Genjutsu. It was almost time to make his move, and then everything would fall into place, and the boy would be his once more.

--

Kai was on the verge of panic. He couldn't move, a hostile ninja was slowly approaching him, and he had the feeling that something was trying to intrude into his mind. If he hadn't had such good mental defenses, then he would have been overcome.

That still didn't take Kai out of his current situation though; it just helped improve it some. He still needed to find some way to break out of this Genjutsu. Suddenly, Sasuke cried out in pain and Kai was knocked to the side as the Uchiha tackled at him.

"Sasuke," Kai said, finding that he could move again, "are you alright?" Kai quickly looked his friend over and saw a bloody kunai in his hand, matching a bloody spot on his leg. He had stabbed himself to break out of the Genjutsu and then brought Kai out as well.

"Don't worry about me," Sasuke grunted as he tried to pull himself back to his feet, "we need to get that scroll." Kai looked over Sasuke once more before nodding and drawing his katana.

"Oh," the woman chuckled, "it seems Sasuke-kun wants to fight after all."

Sasuke sneered, "Can you hold her off for a few seconds while I try to wake up Naruto and Sakura?"

"I can try," Kai responded, shifting his stance slightly so he was holding his katana out to his right side with both hands on the hilt.

"I'm afraid you'll be too busy for that Kai." Kai stiffened and slowly turned around to see who had spoken.

--

The figure jumped from his hiding spot and landed just behind the Genin without making a sound. Nodding to the woman in front of them, he stepped a little closer when one of the Genin 

took a battle stance with his katana. It was time to make himself known, "I'm afraid you'll be too busy for that Kai." The look on the Genin's face was priceless.

--

"Ah, my teammate has arrived," the woman said, still smiling, "now things can get going." Kai stood in his half-crouch, shock written all over his face as he stared at the new figure in front of him.

"After all we've been through, you don't have anything to say to me?" the new man chuckled darkly, "I'm hurt." The man looked to be fairly old and was dressed in a red and black jumpsuit with a dark grey cloak over top of it. As Kai's eyes traveled over the man's face he suddenly became confused, the face didn't match the voice he had heard.

The man noticed Kai's thinly veiled confusion and laughed, "Ah of course, you don't recognize me. That would be because I had to find another body when you escaped me. It isn't as young as I am used to, but it is merely a temporary body after all."

--

Sasuke slowly rose to his feet and turned once more too look at Kai. The Genin was no longer facing the woman in front of them; he was now turned around, instead preparing to fight an older looking man who had come up behind them. Kai seemed to know this person, but how?

"Kai?" Sasuke asked, "Who is that guy?"

"No one that you can fight Sasuke," Kai responded, "I don't mean that as an insult to your skills, but I am the only one who can fight him at this point."

Sasuke tried to argue, "But…"

"No Sasuke," Kai said firmly, Sasuke had never seen this kind of determination in his teammate before, "free Naruto and Sakura, I'll try to hold them both off until you do. Then, I'll fight Hito, and you three can take her."

Sasuke froze when Kai mentioned the name. This was Zanbifushi Hito? The man who had tried to steal Kai's body? That would definitely explain Kai's behavior.

The woman laughed, "Oh good job Kai-kun, you recognized my friend here even though he isn't in the same body as when you last saw him, but how exactly do you think you can hold off the both of us, even for the few seconds Sasuke-kun needs to free the other two."

Kai smirked, "I have my ways."

--

Kai quickly re-sheathed his sword and formed a familiar hand sign, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Instantly, a dozen copies of Kai appeared in a quick burst of smoke before charging the Kusa Nin on the opposite side of the clearing. Hoping that Sasuke would act quickly, Kai drew his katana once more and charged Hito.

As Kai approached, Hito reached out with one arm and waved it, causing a hole to open in the air next to him. When the elderly man pulled his arm back, he was holding a black sheathed katana, which he quickly uncovered before discarding the sheath. The two blades contacted with a resounding clang as metal met metal and the deadlock began.

Kai immediately knew that this battle wouldn't be anything like the mental battle he had fought against Hito. For one thing, the real Hito now had a different body, so his physical strength was different. Not only that, but they were now fighting in the real world, there would be no sudden appearances by Ino to save him now and he couldn't just bend reality like he did in his mindscape.

While Kai and Hito remained deadlocked, the Genin felt his clones getting destroyed, one at a time, but soon heard a shout from Naruto, "Alright, its payback time!"

Then, while Kai's attention was elsewhere, Hito took a step back, causing Kai to stumble forward. Taking advantage of Kai's situation, Hito sidestepped and planted his knee into the Genin's stomach, sending him to his knees.

"It is pointless to resist Kai," Hito taunted, "I am more powerful than you can ever hope to be. You are a fool to think you can fight me, especially alone."

"And who says he is alone?" Naruto suddenly shouted as he sent a kunai flying toward Hito, who easily deflected it with the black blade of his katana.

"You foolish boy," Hito shouted, "you dare interfere with my fight? You have no part in this, so I suggest you go help your other teammates before I decide to kill you now!"

Naruto wasn't listening. Drawing out another kunai, the orange clad Genin charged Hito. Just as Hito brought his katana up to strike Naruto, Kai leapt up and delivered a chakra-powered kick to his head that sent the man flying out of the clearing.

"Thanks oni-san," Kai said as Naruto came up beside him, "but you need to help Sasuke and Sakura."

"But Kai…" Naruto started, but Kai held up a hand to cut him off.

"No, you can't fight him. I know you want to, but I am the only one with the skill to beat him, even if I don't have the power, I can at least hold him off and maybe hurt him enough so that I can get away. None of us have a chance at beating him, but I have the best chance at stalling him," Kai finished.

Naruto looked ready to protest again when Hito dashed back into the clearing and swung his katana at Kai's head, but found it blocked by the Genin's blade. "Go!" Kai shouted. Naruto gave him one last look before he turned and leapt into the melee going on between his other teammates and the Kusa Genin, who Kai no longer suspected to be a Genin.

"It's just you and me now Hito," Kai said, glaring fiercely at Hito.

"You really are a fool," Hito taunted, "you cannot defeat me, I am Zanbifushi Hito!" With a scream, Hito knocked Kai off balance again and pushed his sword away before kicking him in the chest, sending the Genin to the ground with a small grunt.

Kai rose to his feet once again, "I have defeated you one Hito, and I can do it again."

Hito's face reflected his slight confusion mixed with curiosity, "And what does that mean? We have never fought before, or are all those extra memories from my past lives making you lose your mind?"

Kai smirked, "Those memories are what will allow me to defeat you. I have gained access your memory and skill. I have those abilities now, and I have defeated an aspect of your personality that was trying to take over my mind. Like I said, I've done it before, and I can do it again!" Kai charged once more at Hito, and once again found his blade met by the black blade of Hito.

Hito pushed against Kai, pushing pushed his blade back and following up with a quick horizontal slice, which Kai blocked in turn. The two swordsmen continued exchanging a flurry of blows, neither able to make contact with anything more than their opponent's sword.

Then, with another shove, Hito pushed Kai away again, showing his frustration openly as he began shouting at Kai, "It is time to end this foolishness."

Hito held his blade up and formed a one handed seal next to the hilt; the black blade immediately began emitting a soft, ebony aura. When Hito lowered the blade and returned to a battle stance with the blade held out to his side, it left a softly glowing trail behind it. "Now," Hito said, smirking, "it is time to show you the power of _Higureken_!"

Hito dashed forward and brought the sword up over his head and then down toward Kai in an overhead slice. Kai instinctively brought his own blade up to block it like he had before, but when the two blades met there wasn't the usual metallic clang. Instead, there was a flash of the same black light that Hito's blade was emitting and both Nin were sent backward several feet.

Kai stood, panting slightly as he held his katana in a defensive position. Hito was smirking as he stood completely at ease, while his blade slowly dimmed back to its regular black color. "You cannot win," Hito taunted while Kai stood in defiance, "just give up, and I will make the transfer process as painless as possible."

"I won't give up," Kai said, "I won't let you win!"

"That is very noble of you," Hito said, "but how will you defeat me without your sword?"

"Huh?" Kai asked, puzzled. Just as he finished speaking however, his blade began to crack where Hito's black katana had struck it during their last pass. As Kai watched, glowing, black lines began forming all along his sword before it finally shattered, leaving the Genin holding a hilt with a few inches of jagged metal attached where the blade should have been.

"That's, not good," Kai said, and dropped the remains of his sword before activating his Miraigan as Hito charged him once more, swinging his sword in a furious series of attacks. Kai was barely able to dodge his opponent's sword as he danced around the edge of the clearing. Kai knew in the back of his mind that Hito wouldn't kill him. He might injure him drastically, but the man still needed Kai for his soul transfer Jutsu. Somehow, Kai didn't find that information helpful, especially when he tripped over a fallen branch when he tried to dodge another slice very quickly finding himself on his back with a long gash in his left arm.

Hito laughed, "Give up fool, I have won."

Kai smiled slightly, "I already told you, I won't give up no matter what! I will fulfill my promises and my dreams! And there is nothing you can do to stop me!"

--

The boy has a remarkable will, that much was certain. But Hito still couldn't understand why he wouldn't just give in to the inevitable. It was true that Hito was planning on taking the boy's body as his own, but he had never had to fight so hard for a vessel in all his lives.

When Kai had fallen, Hito knew that it was over. The boy's declarations were laughable; there was no hope for him, even now. But if he was sure to be defeated, why was his Miraigan spinning faster now? And why were there two dots circling around each star-pupil instead of the one that had been there before?

--

Hito seemed to pause for a moment as he stood over Kai, but he quickly recovered and moved off to the side, and out of the Genin's line of sight. Suddenly, Kai felt a light tingling on the back of his head. It was almost as if one spot on the back of his head had gone numb. Kai ignored the feeling and quickly rolled onto his back to try and find Hito before he got back up.

As soon as Kai rolled onto his back however, Hito's foot connected with the side of his face, causing his head to jerk violently to the left. With a groan, Kai rolled away from Hito and quickly jumped to his feet, glaring at the elderly man who scowled back.

"You should have just lay still," Hito said as he lifted his sword up into a defensive stance, "then you would be unconscious and this would all be over."

"How many times do I have to say this," Kai said firmly, "I won't give up! If you want me, you'll have to fight harder than this!"

Hito laughed darkly, "That can be arranged," and took a quick step forward, bringing the Genin into the range of his katana. Kai immediately felt another tingling sensation on his left arm, but once again forced himself to ignore it as Hito brought his sword around to slice from Kai's left.

Kai quickly jumped back, but Hito pressed the attack. Kai dodged each attack, but was continuously forces back, and each time Hito attacked, Kai felt like a small part of his body went numb shortly before the attack. Finally, it dawned on him. Kai checked his chakra system and found that the flow to his Miraigan had increased. He was no longer seeing the future, now he was _feeling_ the future in the form of a tingling sensation where the he would be hit by an attack a few seconds before it hit him. Using this new information, Kai began using the sensations to guide his dodges, and found that he was able to dodge the attacks with less room to spare, which gave him more opportunities for counterattacks.

--

Hito didn't know what exactly was going on, but he could guess. Kai had gone from his wild, random dodges, to more precise ones that only barely took him out of the way and kept him in range for his own counterattacks. Hito had been dodging the few punches and kicks Kai had thrown his way, but that didn't mean that it would stay that way for much longer.

Hito knew he needed to end the battle as soon as possible, before the Genin found some way to turn it around. And if he really had Hito's memories, then that possibility was more likely than the old ninja liked.

--

Kai was having a blast. He knew that he shouldn't be so excited, but he had unlocked level two of the Miraigan, and it couldn't have come at a better time. But Kai couldn't keep dodging like this for long. He could already feel his body start to wear out from the strain of his movements and the gash that was still bleeding on his arm.

As he ducked under another horizontal slash from Hito, Kai reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a few shuriken, before he sprung into the air and kicked Hito solidly and sent him flying off of his feet. In the same move, Kai attached an exploding tag to each shuriken and flung them at Hito. The shuriken drove into Hito's cloak pinning it and him to the ground as Kai landed and quickly jumped back, forming a hand sign in mid-air, "_Jibaku Fuda: Kassei_!" and released a small pulse of chakra.

The shuriken-bombs exploded, sending dirt and stones flying into the air and obscuring Kai's view of his opponent. Kai formed a few more seals and called out his next technique, 

"_Futon: Daitoppa_!" and fed the Jutsu with just enough chakra to blow the cloud away, to reveal Hito's cloak, now sporting a few holes, wrapped around a log.

Kai cursed softly and began extending his senses, trying to locate his opponent. Just as Kai got settled into his light trance, he heard Sasuke cry out in pain. Immediately looking over, Kai saw Naruto and Sakura lying on the ground, apparently unconscious, and Sasuke standing over them across from the female Nin they had been fighting. The problem was that she no longer looked like a female.

The woman's face was no longer that of a woman, but now that of a very pale man. The only other problem was that that man's face was now about ten feet away from his body, taken there by his extremely long neck. The man had his canine teeth dug into Sasuke's shoulder, right next to his neck, and the bite was glowing with a sinister light as the man pulled away, shortening his neck again until it was sitting on his shoulders like it should.

The man looked over toward Kai and laughed, "It seems Hito didn't get his prize, oh well, I got mine. Sasuke will come to me for power, and there is nothing any of you can do to stop it." While Kai watched, the man seemed to retch a little before he spit out the scroll that he had swallowed before the fight and caught it. Kai made a move to attack the unidentified Nin, but before he could get close enough, the man threw the scroll toward Sasuke and melted into the ground, leaving no trace behind of his presence.

Kai turned back toward his teammates and sighed. He deactivated his Miraigan and started walking over to them, picking up his sword hilt on the way, the rest was in too many pieces to even hope to make any use of it. He was the only conscious member left, so it was his job to take care of the rest of them. He just hoped that they would all wake up in time for them to get to the tower and finish the exam.

--

AN: A momentous chapter indeed: the return of the real Zanbifushi Hito, my first Sasuke POV, and the unveiling of level 2 of the Miraigan! Yet again, don't go thinking that Kai is suddenly more powerful than Hito. He caught Hito off guard with the Miraigan, and Hito didn't use any Jutsu.

Jutsu List:

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_: Shadow Clone Technique.

_Jibaku Fuda: Kassei_: Exploding Tag: Activate

_Futon: Daitoppa_: Wind Style: Great Breakthrough

_Higureken_ is the name of Hito's sword, it literally translates into Dusk Blade; I think some of you may see where this is going.

A little BTW for you, "Gaki" means brats or kids, just so you know. Please review.


	15. Chapter 15

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Chapter 15

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…wow, I've given so many disclaimers I don't have any more bad jokes…

AN: Here is the conclusion to the Forest of Death portion of the Chunin Exams. Enjoy.

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With a sigh, Kai settled down onto the ground. He had spent the last few minutes carrying his teammates to a large, hollowed out tree, with the help of a few _Kage Bunshin_ of course, and had come to one simple conclusion: Naruto was heavy! He certainly didn't look like it, but all that extra baby fat he was packing made him above average in weight, and Kai's back was paying for it.

But that didn't matter at the moment, Kai needed to make sure his teammates were alright. He had known that it probably wasn't a good idea to move them so quickly, but he wasn't sure if there were any other Nin around, and if there was he had to assume that they were potentially hostile, especially if they found out that Squad 7 had both of their scrolls which would make them a target for anyone. He had decided that getting them to a safer location was better than staying out where they could be attacked from any direction, regardless of their conditions.

His muscles protesting, Kai crawled over and settled down next to Naruto and perform a basic medical analysis Jutsu, but, other than a few bruises, which Kai had expected to find on all three of his teammates, there didn't seem to be anything wrong with him. Sighing in relief, Kai shifted and turned so he could examine Sasuke.

Sasuke had the same battle bruises, but there was also a dark mark on his neck where the pale Nin had bit him. Frowning slightly, Kai leaned over to get a better look. It was definitely a seal of some kind, but it wasn't anything that Kai was familiar with. The Genin frowned a little more, if he didn't recognize it and an enemy Nin had put it there, Sasuke could be in real danger. He would have to be sure to tell Kakashi or the Hokage as soon as he saw one of them.

Kai turned to face Sakura and sighed as he crawled over to her side and sat up next to her, preparing the Jutsu once more. However, almost as soon as he held his hands over her to perform his Jutsu, Sakura groaned and started to sit up. Kai's hands were right over her chest, so as she sat up, Kai's hands landed on her breasts.

There was a tense pause as Sakura quickly turned toward Kai, who stared blankly at her for a moment before realizing where his hands were. Kai blushed a deep crimson and quickly pulled his hands back, "Sakura, I was just… I was checking… and… you… and… ah shit…"

Sakura's face had turned bright red, but not in embarrassment, she was pissed! She drew back her fist slowly as Kai watched, unable to move, before landing a punch on his cheek as she screamed, "PERVERT!"

Kai flew through the opening to their temporary shelter and landed ten feet away, about halfway through the small clearing that the tree was sitting in. Kai slowly sat up, rubbing his sore cheek with his hand, and looked up just in time to see Sakura stalking toward him with her fists clenched tightly. Kai immediately jumped to his feet and put his hands out in front of himself defensively, "Sakura calm down, I wasn't trying to grope you!"

Sakura's rage only seemed to grow, "Then what were you doing?"

Kai blanched slightly in the face of Sakura's fury, but still managed to say, "I was using a medical Jutsu to check your condition, you just woke up at a bad time."

"Oh, so it's suddenly my fault that you are a closet pervert?" Sakura challenged, still closing the distance between them.

Kai knew he was in trouble, he needed to get Sakura's mind off of him, and there was only one sure fire way to do that. "Listen Sakura," Kai said quickly, "Sasuke is in trouble; that Nin you guys were fighting bit him and left some kind of seal behind, but I don't know what it does. We need to wake up Naruto and Sasuke and get out of here. I've got both of our scrolls, so now all we have to do is finish the test."

The speech had the desired effect since Sakura's face quickly lost its rage as she turned toward Sasuke and dashed over to his side. Kai sighed quietly, even though he doubted anything had registered with her after "Sasuke is in trouble."

Slowly, Kai walked back to the tree and ducked down to enter. When he got there, he found Sakura with Sasuke's head on her lap as she calmly stroked his hair. Kai, doubting that Sasuke would appreciate the attention, decided to chance her wrath again, "Sakura, you need to put his head back down, we don't know what is wrong with him yet, and that could cause more harm than good."

Sakura glared at him again, but still moved to lay Sasuke flat on the ground again before shifting to sit vigil next to him. Kai sighed and settled into a similar position next to Naruto. The silence continued for several minutes until Sakura turned to him, "I guess we're even now huh?"

Kai turned to Sakura, one eyebrow lifted, "What do you mean?"

Sakura blushed faintly, "You got mad at me for the little run in with the Sand Genin before the exam and I got mad at you for groping me."

Kai felt his face run hot, "I didn't grope you."

Sakura started to try and say something, but just sighed and fell silent. Now that she was fully awake, she knew that Kai was telling the truth, but she had hoped that she could have used the opportunity to bring things back to normal between them. Kai had been slightly cool to her ever since their first run in with Gaara. She knew why, he had made his position very clear when it had happened, but she had hoped that he would have gotten over it by now. She sighed again; at least it wasn't affecting their teamwork during anything major. As long as that stayed the same, she would have to endure everything else.

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Kai woke suddenly, not sure what had roused him. He looked around quickly and saw Naruto and Sasuke still lying where they had been before Kai had dozed off. Sakura had offered to take first watch, and Kai had agreed readily, but now she was no where to be seen.

Rising slightly, Kai crept slowly to the opening of their shelter and peeked around the edge. Kai caught his breath when his eyes settled on the scene in front of him. Sakura was standing with kunai in hand, staring furiously at the three Oto Genin who had attacked Kabuto during the first exam.

"You don't stand a chance against us girly," the female Oto Nin said with a smirk, "I hate Kunoichi like you. Always too worried about their hair or boys to work at becoming stronger," the girl vanished causing both Sakura and Kai to gasp slightly before she appeared behind Sakura and grabbed her long ponytail, pulling it out behind her, "Look at this, I can tell that you are exactly that kind of Kunoichi."

Kai was about to jump in and try to help Sakura, but before he could make his move, Sakura reached behind her and cut through her own hair with a kunai. Kai was stunned, but slightly proud at the same time. Sakura spun around and tried to land a punch on the Oto Kunoichi, but the girl managed to dodge, dropping the handful of hair, and landing a few feet away from Kai, who no one had noticed yet.

"You're right," Sakura said, her head hanging as she shook slightly, "I used to be like that, but starting here and now, I swear that I am going to change!" Sakura lifted her head and drew out a second kunai before sinking into a fighting stance, standing between the Oto Nin.

"And what makes you think you can beat us girly?" the bandaged one taunted, "Kin is the weakest of the three of us, and she managed to get the jump on you. There is no way you can beat us alone."

Kai decided to make his move, "And what makes you think she's alone?" Kai quickly drew a kunai out and moved behind the now named Kin standing nearby his hiding place, "Stand down, or she dies."

The two boys looked at each other for a second before smirking. "Go ahead," the bandaged one said, "We don't care."

Kai thought furiously for a moment before he smiled, "But you should. You may not care about her health, and, judging by her reaction, she expected that, but you can't continue the exams if one of your teammates is incapacitated."

The taller of the two boys laughed, "Dosu, he actually thinks we care about this exam."

Dosu laughed, "You idiot, we're just here for Sasuke. We want to see what it is that Orochimaru-sama finds to be so interesting."

Kai stiffened, could Orochimaru have been the one who bit Sasuke earlier? Was he the one who was working with Hito? He certainly hoped not. Orochimaru was one of the Legendary Sanin, and one of the most powerful Nin to have ever come out of Konohagakure. If he and Hito had teamed up, there could be a lot more to worry about in the near future besides the Chunin Exam Finals.

"While Kai was panicking, Dosu's laugh grew, "Zaku, I think he remembers Orochimaru-sama. He must have gotten his ass handed to him."

While the Oto Nin laughed, Kai decided to take a gamble, "No, actually I was thinking about the man with Orochimaru earlier, Zanbifushi Hito."

The laughter immediately stopped and Kin stiffened in his grasp, it seemed that these three knew Hito. "How do you know Hito-sama?" Zaku demanded.

Kai knew he had them on the ropes, "I am the one he was after."

Kin stiffened even more, "You are Wareta Kai?"

Kai lifted one eyebrow, "Yeah…"

Zaku and Dosu immediately began mumbling to each other, leaving Kin to shift uncomfortably, her eyes darting around wildly, searching for a way to escape. Kai's eye's darted back and forth between Zaku and Dosu for a few minutes before he finally lost his patience, "Alright, what is going on here?"

Zaku and Dosu stiffened slightly before readying themselves for battle; it seemed that they had decided their teammate was important after all. While Kai was slightly distracted with watching the two boys, Kin elbowed him in the stomach, causing him to double over, and allowing Kin to escape his grasp. She had forgotten about Sakura, however, because the Kunoichi was easily able to tackle her to the ground and place one of her own kunai at Kin's throat.

Zaku and Dosu turned their attention to Sakura and charged, hoping to get to the two Kunoichi before Kai got in the way. For his part, Kai was confused. These Oto Nin were acting like they were scared of him, but what reason would they have for that? Maybe Hito had said something to them so they wouldn't hurt or kill him. That would certainly put a dent in his plan. Kai smiled, if that was the case, then maybe he could use that to his advantage. Forming a few quick seals, Kai called out his technique, "_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_" As the giant fireball exploded form Kai's mouth, he fell to the ground and cursed, he was still too low on chakra for any kind of extended fighting, and that would definitely cause him some trouble.

Zaku saw the fireball coming and lifted his arms before flexing his hands, causing a huge gust of wind to burst from his palms, extinguishing the fireball before it could reach the Oto Nin.

"Hey," Dosu said once the dust had settled again and he caught sight of Kai, "he's weak! No matter how strong he might be at full strength, he is too low on chakra now to be any kind of a threat. We can take him!"

Zaku smirked as he and Dosu began stalking toward the slumped Kai who looked up and grimaced, "Crap…" Struggling once more to his feet, Kai reached over his shoulder to grab his sword, only to remember what had happened in his fight with Hito, "Double crap…"

The two Oto Nin were only ten feet away when Sakura made her move. She landed a blow to the back of Kin's head, knocking her out, and jumped off of her prone form to land in front of Kai in a defensive stance. "So, the little girly still thinks she can fight us," Zaku taunted, "cutting your hair doesn't automatically make you a better Shinobi."

Sakura glared at the two Nin in front of her, "I won't let you hurt my teammates."

"And what are you going to do to stop us girly?" Dosu taunted.

Sakura's glare intensified at the continued use of their nickname for her, but she remained focused and threw one of her kunai toward the Oto Nin. The two boys merely laughed and easily dodged the oncoming blade, "What was that supposed to do?" Dosu taunted.

Sakura however, smirked and pointed. The two Nin turned in time to see a huge log swinging down from above them, suspended from several strands of ninja wire with another severed line trailing from the back end. However, Zaku quickly stepped forward once again and blasted it out of the way with another huge gust of wind. "That was a nice try," Dosu said, eagerly continuing with his taunting, "but you will have to do better than that to beat us."

As the Oto Genin continued their approach, Kai drew out a kunai and lowered himself into a fighting stance. He may have been low on chakra, but that didn't mean that he couldn't fight at all. As long as he avoided any Jutsu he should be alright. Just as their opponents prepared to lunge forward, a green blur shot out of the bushes to Kai's right and stopped in front of Sakura, revealing the poufy haired form of Rock Lee.

"What do you want?" Dosu demanded, "Can't you see we are a little busy here?"

Lee didn't seem to hear them, "I am Rock Lee, and I will protect Sakura-chan with my life!" Kai sweatdropped, that was a little sudden, wasn't it? This guy had just shown up and now he was acting like he had it worse for Sakura than Naruto did.

Sakura seemed to be thinking along the same path, "Huh?"

Lee quickly turned around and dropped to one knee while grabbing Sakura's hand, "Oh Sakura-chan, will you be my girlfriend?"

Sakura recoiled slightly, "No way, you're weird!"

"Weird!?" Lee screamed before slumping slightly a defeated look on his face. Someone coughed in the distance…

Lee suddenly straightened up again and faced the Oto Nin once more, "It does not matter! I, Rock Lee, will protect Sakura-chan and will one day win her heart!"

Sakura looked like she was about to throw up.

"Uh as much fun as this is, weren't we supposed to be fighting?" Zaku said, looking slightly confused.

Lee seemed to have completely gotten over his disappointment as he charged toward Dosu, catching the Nin off guard, and slid to the ground in front of him before kicking him into the air and springing up after him. Lee flicked his wrists, loosening the bandages wrapped around his arms, and proceeded to tightly wrap Dosu in the bandages. Finally, just as their upward momentum began to slow, Lee grabbed onto Dosu and flipped them both over and twisted, sending the two into a rapid spin. As the two fell, Kai heard lee shout out, "**_Omote Renge_**!"

Kai and Sakura were stunned by Lee's display of strength and skill, but Zaku was less than impressed. Acting quickly, the Oto Nin dug his hands into the ground at his feet and released a burst of air, softening the ground just as Lee and Dosu landed in a huge clout of dust. Lee sprung back and landed next to Sakura and Kai in a crouch, panting heavily as he stared into the cloud that hid Dosu from view.

As the dust cleared, Kai was shocked to see Dosu climbing to his feet, but no less shocked than Lee was. The Oto Nin dusted himself off before turning to his teammate, "Nice save."

Zaku smirked, "Now, let's get our job done and get out of here."

Dosu dashed toward the three Konoha Genin, and Lee forced himself to his feet again. It seemed the his **_Omote Renge_**took a lot out of him, but Kai had to hand it to him, if that attack had worked properly, Dosu would have been an ugly smear on the ground instead of an ugly enemy Nin bent on killing them.

Dosu approached Lee and threw a punch at him, which Lee easily dodged, but still fell to the ground, clutching his ears in pain. "Sound waves!" Kai exclaimed suddenly, "That's how they're doing those attacks, through sound waves."

Dosu stepped away from Lee as he began retching and smirked, "Very good," the Oto Nin pulled his sleeve back revealing a metallic device strapped to his forearm, "I can use my chakra to manipulate the directions the sound waves from my attacks go. I can send them right into your inner ear, causing you to lose balance, or your lunch; sometimes both."

Lee was once again struggling to his feet, so Dosu stepped forward and kicked him in the ribs, sending the Genin to the ground again where he lay, breathing heavily before he passed out. "There is no way you can beat us," Zaku taunted, stepping up next to Dosu, "So why don't you just go wake up Sasuke so we can beat on him for a while before we kill you two."

Kai grimaced. Sasuke was definitely not in any condition to fight anyone, much less these Oto Genin. Naruto wouldn't be any help either since he was still unconscious from his own beating at Orochimaru's hands. All that was left was Sakura, who wasn't very strong to begin with; Lee, who was down for the count already; and himself, but he was almost out of chakra already.

The Oto Nin seemed to guess their situation because they smirked as they continued walking toward them. Just as Kai began bracing himself for the beating that would soon begin, Dosu and Zaku suddenly stopped, their hands jerking into a rat seal, "Hey, what's going on?" As they stood there, their hands slowly lowered down to their sides and they took a few more steps forward.

"_Kagemane no Jutsu_ is a success."

Kai looked to his left, following the sound of the speaker and saw a very welcome face. "Shikamaru," Kai shouted gratefully, "great timing!"

Shikamaru waved, causing the Oto Nin to wave as well, and began examining the clearing, trying to decide how he should deal with his prisoners.

"Are you three alright?" Choji called, coming out of the bushes behind Shikamaru and walking over to Kai.

"Yeah," Ino said as she followed Choji, "we came in just as that Lee guy got nailed in the ribs. Sorry we couldn't help sooner."

Kai blushed slightly but it was hidden in the gloom under the treetops, "Don't worry about it, you guys got here in plenty of time."

Sakura took this time to fall to her knees, shaking slightly as the seriousness of the previous situation finally broke through her adrenaline rush. Kai looked at Ino quizzically before kneeling next to her and placing a hand on her shoulder, "Sakura, it's ok. It's over now. Just relax."

Sakura turned and looked at Kai with tears falling from her eyes and practically tackled him as she dug her face into his shoulder. Kai looked around awkwardly before he slowly wrapped his arms around her, hoping that he was doing the right thing. Sakura may have taken a step in the right direction, and even though she had not earned Kai's complete forgiveness yet, that didn't mean that he couldn't try to comfort his teammate.

"I hate to interrupt the moment guys, "Shikamaru called from the edge of the clearing, "but I can't hold these two forever you know."

Ino turned to him, red in the face, "Then go bang their heads against a tree or something!"

Shikamaru sighed, "Oh alright…" He looked for a suitable tree before he began walking so that Zaku would end up right in front of it. Then, with a small grunt, Shikamaru doubled over, causing Dosu and Zaku to do the same, which introduced Zaku's head to the solid tree trunk in front of him, causing him to collapse in a heap.

Shikamaru sighed once more as he straightened up and re-positioned himself so that Dosu was in front of the tree. Shikamaru doubled over again, but this time, nothing happened. Shikamaru straightened up with his eyes widened in surprise as Dosu dashed over and delivered a blow to the back of his head. The Genin had broken free of the _Kagemane no Jutsu_.

Dosu grabbed onto the back of Shikamaru's shirt as the Genin collapsed and grunted as he hurled him toward Choji, "You dropped this." As soon as Choji caught the limp form of his teammate, Dosu ran in and landed a punch to the Akimichi's stomach, knocking the wind out of him and causing him to collapse as well, but thankfully not on top of Shikamaru.

Kai gulped and carefully pried Sakura off of him before standing up and quick-stepping around the pink Kunoichi. Sakura, deprived of Kai's support, continued sobbing on the ground. Kai stood next to Ino and drew out a kunai while she did the same. "Are you still going to try to fight me?" Dosu said, right back to his taunting, "I thought I already proved that I could beat you easily."

Kai grimaced and sank into a fighting crouch which Ino copied after only a moment's hesitation. The two had never fought together, not even in Kai's mindscape, but hopefully that wouldn't hurt them too much in their current situation.

Dosu decided to take his taunting in another direction, "So the young couple is really going to try to team up on me now, huh?" The effect was immediate and Dosu watched, slightly surprised, as Ino and Kai both blushed a brilliant scarlet that was easily visible, even through the gloom. "Looks like I hit a sensitive spot," Dosu mumbled and was about to continue his taunting when Kai dashed forward.

Kai caught the Oto Genin off guard for a moment, but only managed to get in a small cut on his arm before Dosu jumped out of reach. Then Ino moved in, scoring a small hit of her own before Dosu once again moved, only to run into Kai. This team assault continued for a few more seconds before Dosu landed a punch to Kai's face, sending him flying back to land next to the still sobbing Sakura.

Ino sprang away and landed at Kai's side with concern written across her face, "Are you alright Kai?"

Kai groaned as he slowly sat up and rubbed his slightly bruised jaw, "More or less." Struggling to his feet once again, Kai turned to Sakura, "You are on your way to earning my forgiveness Sakura, but you aren't going to get any further if you keep crying like that. We need your help. So get up, and let's get going."

Sakura looked up at Kai, eyes red and swollen, although no more tears were falling, and nodded slowly before struggling to her feet and drawing out her own kunai. Dosu laughed, "Is the little girly back in the fight?"

Ignoring him, Kai spoke to the two Kunoichi, "Alright, I am in no real condition for much more close-combat, but I can still throw shuriken. If I stay back and play support, will you two be able to engage him head on?"

Sakura nodded hesitantly while Ino sighed, "It's not like we have any other choice," she paused, and then smiled, "Just try not to hit us ok?"

Kai drew out his shuriken with a smile of his own and activated his Miraigan on a very low setting so his dwindling chakra supplies could support it, "Don't worry, they might come close, but the only thing I'll hit is him."

"Come on Sakura," Ino said, taking charge since Sakura seemed to be in no emotional state to lead, "It's just like when we were kids and always talked about fighting together. Let's do it." Sakura's face firmed slightly as Ino charged and the pink Kunoichi followed close behind her, both of them running low to the ground.

Just before they reached Dosu, Ino slid to a crouch and Sakura jumped up, planting her foot on Ino's shoulder and launching herself into the air over Dosu. While the Oto Nin followed the brighter colored target that was Sakura's hair, Ino resumed her charge and planted an elbow into Dosu's stomach and jumped away again just as Sakura brought her heel down on the top of his head, sending him face first into the dirt.

Kai's mouth fell open, he had hoped they would be able to work together well, but he had never expected anything like that. Before they could celebrate though, the two Kunoichi were blown off their feet by a strong burst of wind. Turning toward the source, Kai found Zaku once again on his feet. "Why won't you stay down?" Kai shouted as he flung a handful of shuriken toward his new target, but Zaku simply flexed his hand and the shuriken were blown off course, before sticking into the tree behind him.

Kai heard a curse behind him and looked quickly to see Ino and Sakura trying to struggle free of a few bushes on the edge of the clearing. The only problem was that every time one of them got partially free, the other would push them back into the bush in their own frantic attempts to get out. Kai sighed; he knew that their teamwork had been too good to be true.

Kai then heard a groan and turned in time to see Dosu struggling to his feet once again, "Not bad, but your girlfriends are out of commission now." Dosu began stalking toward the trapped Kunoichi.

Kai knew he didn't stand a chance fighting them alone, so he tried the only other option. Deactivating his Miraigan, he shouted "Hey, leave them alone!"

Dosu stopped and glanced toward Kai, "And why would I do that."

Kai sighed, "Because if you promise not to hurt them, I'll come with you without a struggle."

Zaku and Dosu looked at each other quizzically for a moment. Then, Zaku spoke up, "And why would we want that?"

Kai sweatdropped, Hito really hadn't said anything, "Hito didn't say I was insanely powerful because he didn't want you to get killed; he said it because he didn't want you to end up hurting me. He wants me so he can take over my body as his own, and if you bring me to him, he will most likely reward you."

"Kai, no!" Ino screamed and redoubled her efforts to escape the clinging bush.

"Really," Dosu said thoughtfully before turning back toward Zaku, "I think I heard Hito-sama saying something about needing a new body, and this guy is hardly as powerful as he said he was. What do you think?"

"Sure," Zaku shrugged, "why not."

As the two Oto Nin walked cautiously toward Kai with the intent of subduing him, they were stopped by a sinister voice coming from the tree, "Because you won't be able to." Kai whipped around and saw Sasuke standing at the opening at the base of the tree, covered in strange, black markings, almost like tattoos. Kai's eyes narrowed as he followed the markings back toward the seal on his neck, where the marks seemed to come from.

Sasuke moved so quickly Kai wasn't able to follow him. Kai blinked and Sasuke disappeared, but Kai heard a cry of anguish from behind him. Turning again, Kai saw Sasuke, standing behind a kneeling Zaku, and holding both of the Oto Genin's arms behind his back while the Uchiha's foot was braced against the Oto Nin.

"You seem very proud of these arms of yours," Sasuke sneered, "how about I break them for you?" Zaku screamed as Sasuke pulled on his arms while pushing into the Genin's back, quickly pulling his arms out of their sockets with a sickening pop. Then, Sasuke twisted each arm slightly and a resounding crack echoed across the clearing as Zaku fainted from the pain.

Sasuke then turned toward Dosu and once again suddenly appeared in front of the Oto Nin, grabbing the device on his arm before he could throw a punch. Pulling out a kunai, Sasuke brought the blade back and prepared to drive it into Dosu's stomach until three separate cries rang out across the clearing.

"Sasuke don't!"

"No Sasuke-kun!"

"Sasuke!"

The Uchiha paused and looked at his fellow Konoha Genin around the clearing in various states of health before shrugging and releasing Dosu's arm, "Take your teammates and get out of my sight." Dosu nodded dumbly and ran over to Kin before throwing her over his shoulder and then doing the same to Zaku. With one last backwards glance, Dosu leapt into the trees, eager to escape the enraged Uchiha.

As soon as Dosu was out of sight, Sasuke growled softly, attracting Kai's attention once again, as the markings on him began withdrawing back toward the seal on his neck. Once the lines disappeared, Sasuke brought his hand to his head and moaned before collapsing into a heap on the ground.

Ino and Sakura, finally managing to free themselves, both ran over to check on Sasuke. Kai looked around the small clearing that had become a battle field in the last half-hour and surveyed the damage. Lee, Choji, and Shikamaru were all lying unconscious near the tree hollow where Naruto still slept. Sasuke was slowly being carried back to the same place by the two Kunoichi while Kai stood in the middle of the clearing, adrenaline slowly running down.

They were still alive. That in itself was a miracle since they had been so clearly outmatched even with all the backup they had received. Kai turned back toward the tree to check on Naruto, but found himself unable to lift his feet. He was too weak to move. Slowly drifting into unconsciousness, Kai collapsed to the ground. Faintly, Kai heard Ino shout something and felt someone shaking him, but that didn't matter now.

As he slowly drifted off, he smiled; only one person had shouted "Sasuke-kun" when they had tried to keep Sasuke from killing the Oto Nin. For some strange reason, that made Kai happy.

--

AN: This just seemed like a good stopping place for me. I didn't want to have a repeat of Chapter four's 17000 words by going on to another subject so quickly.

Jutsu List:

_Kage Bunshin_: Shadow Clone

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu:_ Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

**_Omote Renge:_****Primary Lotus**

_Kagemane no Jutsu_: Shadow Possession Technique

If you enjoyed the story, tell me so. Review so I have something else to keep my inspiration going.


	16. Chapter 16

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Chapter 16

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, although I am tempted to claim him just to see what would happen…………Nah

AN: I have hit another burst of inspiration that will get me through the next part of the Chunin Exams in order to get to the part I thought of. I was sitting in my Ethics class, not paying as much attention as I should have, and thought of the perfect way to solve one of my obstacles to getting the story where I want it, and that realization will bring me through the next few chapters. For now, enjoy chapter 16.

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Kai's head hurt! He hadn't had a headache this bad in his life! He knew why his head hurt, he had used too much chakra, but knowledge didn't help the pain, and thinking about it only made his head hurt worse. Groaning, Kai shifted slightly, causing his bed to creak below him. Wait a second, bed? Why was he in a bed?

With a sharp jerk, Kai sat up straight, and immediately fell back down with his hand to his head as it pulsed painfully. There was an immediate rustling as several figures ran to Kai's bedside. "Kai," Naruto said, "are you alright?"

"Don't strain yourself Kai," Ino said, "everything is alright, we all passed the second exam."

Kai moaned in pain and slowly opened his eyes again, looking up into the concerned faces of Naruto on the left and Ino on the right side of his bed. Kai smiled feebly, "Anyone care to explain how I got here?"

Ino nodded and started, "After you passed out, Lee's teammates showed up and took him away. Once they left, Sakura and I got everyone back under cover until Shikamaru and Choji woke up, which didn't take too long. Soon, Naruto woke up too and he was able to create enough _Kage Bunshin_ to help carry you and Sasuke to the tower. We already had our scrolls when we found you, so when Naruto saw that you already had a Heaven Scroll, we just decided to finish the exam together."

Kai nodded carefully to avoid irritating his headache further and Naruto continued the story, "When we got here, we opened our scrolls and Iruka-sensei appeared and said we had all passed. Then he saw that you were unconscious and called the Medic-Nin. They brought you here and you've been out since."

"How long," Kai groaned, covering his eyes with his left hand.

"We finished the test in three days," Naruto said, smiling, "You have been unconscious for about a day, so that leaves one day left for you to get back into fighting condition."

"Three days?" Kai asked surprised, "Were we the first teams in?"

Naruto sobered, "No, Gaara's team beat us in by a full day."

"Wow," Kai murmured, slowly massaging his forehead in a vain attempt to sooth the pain.

"Yeah," Ino said, "I really hope I don't end up on their bad side."

"I'm not really worried about the girl or the one in the cat outfit," Kai said, looking up at Ino and Naruto's confused faces, "it's Gaara that I'm worried about. He is the strongest one in the group. The other two might be a little stronger than us, but not so much so that we wouldn't be able to overcome them with a little skill and a lot of luck. When I saw him in the alley before, he seemed to let off an aura of bloodlust that was worse than anything I have ever felt before."

Ino's eyes widened while Naruto just frowned. Neither of them liked that idea any more than Kai did. "But let's not worry about that now," Kai said, covering his eyes again, "how much longer do I have until the end of the second exam?"

"Until noon tomorrow," Ino said immediately, glancing at a clock before continuing, "so that would leave you about twenty-one hours until the next part."

"Awesome," Kai grinned, "I just hope that's enough time for this headache to go away."

"Is it really that bad Kai?" Naruto asked.

"Naruto," Kai countered, "have you ever had a headache due to loss of chakra?"

"No," Naruto admitted, "I've never had the problem of passing out from lack of chakra either. I've just never used all my chakra at once before."

"Well believe me," Kai said grimly, "you don't want to. I feel like your pounding on my skull like you do on the door to Ichiraku Ramen when you show up before they open."

"Hey," Naruto protested, thankfully keeping his voice down, "I only did that once and I was hungry. I had to skip dinner the night before."

"Calm down oni-san," Kai laughed, immediately stopping with a wince as his laughter caused him to bounce slightly, making his head pulse painfully, "I was joking."

Just then, Sakura walked into the room, "Hey guys, is he aw… Kai! You're awake!" Sakura ran over to his bedside and sat next to Ino while Kai winced at the initial pitch of her voice, "Are you alright?"

Ino slapped Sakura on the back of her head, "Keep it down baka, he has a headache."

Sakura's face fell, "Sorry," she whispered so quietly Kai had to strain to hear it.

"You don't have to be that quiet though Sakura," Kai said, chuckling once again.

Sakura blushed while everyone shared a laugh at her expense, with Kai's noticeably quieter due to his headache. Finally, once everyone had calmed down, Kai turned to Ino, "So, who else has shown up so far?"

Ino folded her arms and looked up in thought, "Probably everyone who is going to. All of the Konoha ten are here, along with Gaara's team, Lee's team, and Kabuto's team. The Sound Genin that we fought showed up about an hour ago with Zaku's arms in makeshift slings and the other two in relatively good condition, even if they were a little bruised."

"Crap," Kai said loudly, causing Sakura and Ino to flinch while he winced as his head protested his own outburst, "looks like we might have to fight them again."

Sakura and Ino nodded solemnly while Naruto just looked down, "I'm sorry I wasn't any help."

"Don't try to start a pity party oni-san," Kai said sternly, "you were in no condition to fight, and you did more than enough just getting Sasuke and I back here safely. Speaking of which, where is Sasuke?"

Sakura looked over her shoulder, "In the next bed." Ino leaned to the side and Kai looked over to see Sasuke lying in another bed, unconscious. Groaning, Kai pushed himself up in his bed, much to everyone's protest, and leaned forward.

"Is he alright?" Kai said, looking again now that he had a better view. If Kai hadn't known any better he would have said that Sasuke was just asleep, instead of unconscious due to the effects of an unknown seal placed on him by a hostile Nin.

"He woke up for a while a few hours ago," Sakura said, her eyes firmly fixed on Sasuke's sleeping form, "he's fine, just tired. You should be following his example and getting some sleep."

Kai sighed, so now Sakura was going to try to play nursemaid, "Sakura, I'm not tired, my head just hurts. I just spent the last twenty-four hours sleeping, and I am not going to go back to sleep just like that. Has anyone told Kakashi-sensei about the seal and that black marks?"

Naruto shook his head, "No, we haven't seen him yet."

Kai grumbled, "Well, we will have to tell him as soon as we see him again. This is important. That seal is powerful, and I don't know what it is. We need to tell him so he can do something about it."

Naruto nodded firmly while Sakura just looked between the two of them, slightly upset with the conversation. Ino suddenly stood up, "I'll be right back. I'm going to find a Medic-Nin so they can give you something for your headache."

Kai nodded gratefully and Ino quickly disappeared. Kai was hoping that he could get through the next few minutes without having to think too much, but fate was against him. Naruto smiled evilly, "So Kai, don't you think it was interesting that Ino chose to wait in here with us until you woke up?"

Kai groaned and slowly lowered himself back onto the bed, "Please Naruto, not now."

Sakura decided to pick up where Naruto had left off, "Seriously Kai, what do you think?" The teasing tone in her voice kept Kai from assuming she was simply being a moron, but it didn't help his mood.

"Sakura," Kai said as he turned toward her and gave her an evil glare, "I said not right now." Sakura squeaked in slightly surprise, but fell silent afterward.

Silence hung over the three Genin teammates for the next several minutes before Kai sighed, "I'm sorry guys. You can torment me later, but with all the stress going on right now, I really don't need your teasing."

"Teasing about what?" Ino asked as she walked back into the room with a nurse close behind her.

"Nothing Ino," Kai said, laughing nervously until his head resumed its pounding, at which point he fell back in his bed again with a pained moan.

Before anyone could blink, the nurse was immediately at Kai's bedside, performing a medical jutsu to check his condition. After a few seconds she frowned, "Well, in this situation I would normally prescribe some pain medication for you, but since you are still in the Chunin exams, any drugs in your system could prevent you from fighting with your full ability."

"Well this headache isn't exactly helping either," Kai responded with a hint of desperation in his voice.

The Medic-Nin smiled in sympathy, "Let me give you a bit of advice. Sometimes when I am working with a patient, I overextend my own chakra supply and end up with a headache just like yours. Over the years, I have found that the headache is caused more by stress and muscle tension than it is by your body getting back at you for using all of your chakra. The best help I can give you now is to tell you to relax and try to get some rest. I can guarantee that you are more tired than you realize. In fact, I recommend that all of you rest up now; you'll definitely need it and there won't be time for sleep later."

Kai sighed and thanked the nurse, who smiled at them all as she turned and left the room. "I guess I'll go follow her advice," Naruto said, turning to leave as well, "rest up Kai. I don't want you to get eliminated until we meet in the finals."

Kai smiled and waved to Naruto as he left, leaving him alone in the room with the two kunoichi. Sakura grinned evilly before standing, "I think I'll follow Naruto's example," she walked to the door before turning back and saying, "now you two behave yourselves," and quickly disappeared into the hallway before Ino or Kai could say anything.

Kai blushed slightly and closed his eyes as he mumbled, "Stupid Sakura…" Ino saw his blush, but decided not to comment on it, instead deciding to place her hand on his.

Kai froze for a moment when she touched his hand, but quickly relaxed and said, "So, how exactly am I supposed to relax with a pounding headache?"

Ino thought for a moment, not moving her hand, "You know, I don't think she said anything about her technique, I guess you'll just have to try different things."

Kai sighed and changed his position, pulling his hand away from Ino even though he didn't want to. Over the next ten minutes, Kai shifted position constantly, trying everything from putting his head under his pillow to curling up into a ball, all without any change in his throbbing headache. Finally, Kai decided he had had enough, "Stupid headache," he exclaimed as he rolled onto his stomach with his face down in the pillow, "Why! Won't! You! Go! Away!" with each word, Kai slammed his head into his pillow. Once he stopped he immediately regretted his actions as his head throbbed once more in protest, causing Kai to let out a moaned, "Owww…" and buried his face into his pillow.

Ino giggled slightly, even though she felt bad about Kai being in pain, it was still funny to watch. She thought for a moment before suddenly getting an idea. At first she blushed at her thought, but her face quickly firmed in determination and she slowly reached out toward the pained Genin.

Kai stiffened when he felt Ino's hands rest on his shoulders, but immediately relaxed again as she began massaging them. Kai let out a groan of appreciation and Ino, encouraged by this, shifted to sit on the bed next to him so she could continue more comfortably.

As the Kunoichi continued the massage, Kai felt his headache slowly subsiding. Ino, not wanting to work his shoulders until they were sore, decided to start moving down his back. As the Kunoichi's surprisingly skilled hands traveled down to the center of his back, Kai arched slightly and groaned once more. Once he settled again he felt sleep starting to overtake him. He was definitely getting relaxed.

Ino finished working down to the small of his back before slowly working back up to his shoulders once more. By that time, she noticed Kai's breath had steadied as he slipped into slumber. Sighing softly, Ino pulled the covers over him and gave him one last look before turning and leaving.

As she walked down the hall, she shook her head, "What are you doing Ino?" she said, subconsciously hoping no one heard her talking to herself. With confusion evident on her face, she made her way back to her room and into her bed where she quickly fell asleep.

--

"Kai, you need to wake up."

Kai groaned as he slowly woke to see Kakashi standing next to his bed, lightly shaking his shoulder. "Kakashi-sensei?" Kai asked sleepily, "what time is it?"

Kakashi chuckled, "It's time for you to get out of bed and go join the other Genin who will be continuing in the exams. The second part is officially over."

Kai stared at Kakashi blankly for a moment before suddenly sitting up, nearly head butting the Jonin in the process, "I need to get ready!"

Kakashi chuckled before gesturing to a set of Kai's clothing waiting for him, "I brought you a change of clothes and some replacement supplies. By the way, what happened to your sword?"

Kai's face darkened and he turned toward his sensei, "We were ambushed in the forest by Hito and some other guy. I think the second one was Orochimaru."

Kakashi's face immediately grew serious, "Alright, tell me what happened, but make it the abridged version; you don't have a lot of time left, and there will be plenty of time to talk later."

Kai nodded firmly and began his story, "We were into our second day when Orochimaru approached us disguised as a female Kusa Genin. We got ready to fight, but Hito showed up and said that they were teammates. I fought against Hito while the others fought Orochimaru. The fight wasn't going well at first. Hito broke my sword with a weird attack and I was forced onto the defensive. Then, I somehow unlocked the second level of the Miraigan which let me _feel_ the future. Using that, I was able to dodge his attacks better and get in a few hits of my own. Eventually he was forced to retreat and I looked over in time to see Orochimaru biting Sasuke on the neck."

Kakashi winced, but didn't look too surprised, "Anything else?"

Kai nodded hesitantly, "Later on, we were attacked by the Oto Genin, and the way they were talking I think they might have been working for Orochimaru and Hito. We were about to get beaten when Sasuke woke up and annihilated them. There was a strange black seal where Orochimaru had bitten him and he was covered in black marks. I think the seal may have been augmenting his power somehow. It wasn't any kind of seal I recognized though."

"This is not good," Kakashi mumbled; then he said more audibly, "You should get ready Kai. I'll take care of Sasuke, so don't worry about him, worry about finishing the exams."

Kai nodded, "Hai Kakashi-sensei," and got up to get himself dressed while Kakashi quickly left the room. After a quick change of clothes, Kai threw his scabbard with the sword hilt still sheathed over his shoulder. It wouldn't hurt to still carry the thing. The blade was still sharp, even if it was broken, and, at the very least, carrying it could add a little intimidation factor. His opponents might think he had a full sword there and try to factor that into their plans. It could give him an edge.

Kai quickly made his way into the hallway outside his room and made one last check to see if he had left anything behind. Not seeing anything, he turned and began jogging toward one end of the hall, hoping he was going in the right direction. After a few seconds, Kai began hearing the sounds of people talking. Shortly afterward, he rounded a corner and walked into a large, well lit room. He was standing on a walkway about twenty feet above the main floor which was where most of the people were standing. Kai moved toward a staircase as he looked around the room, taking note of the abnormally high ceiling and heavy tiles on the floor as well as the large stone hands forming a tiger seal on the far side of the room.

As Kai neared the ground, he heard Naruto shout, "Kai, it's about time!"

Kai quickly located Naruto, who was standing next to their other two teammates, and waved before walking towards them. "Hey guys, how are you doing?"

Sasuke nodded to him but didn't say anything. Sakura decided to fill the gap he left, "We're doing fine, isn't that right Sasuke-kun?" Sasuke grunted and Sakura beamed before continuing, "How are you doing though? I hope you got enough sleep after we left you alone with Ino."

Kai's face turned red, but he leveled a glare on her, "Sakura, as I recall, Sasuke was still unconscious in the room when you left, so I wasn't really alone."

"But what if you had been alone?" Sakura taunted, trying to embarrass Kai with her teasing.

Kai, however, was just getting pissed off, he had had enough of this, "Sakura, what I do or do not do while you aren't around is none of your damn business, and I would appreciate it if you would keep your overly large forehead out of my business!"

Sakura flinched at the mention of her forehead, but still managed to respond, "What is your problem Kai, I was just teasing you."

Kai sighed, "Once again Sakura, you fail to see the big picture. I never knew my family. I have never known any kind of relationship beyond friendship, and you are teasing me about my friendship with Ino. It may develop into something more and it may not, but either way, it is a tender area for me and I don't appreciate you using it to amuse yourself through teasing me!"

"Can't take a little teasing Kai?" Kai stiffened as his face reddened when Ino came up behind him. Luckily, it seemed she had only caught the end of Kai's rant.

Kai laughed nervously, but Ino pretended not to notice, "How is your head this morning?"

Kai nodded, "Its fine, thanks by the way. I fell asleep before I could thank you before."

Ino waved it off vacantly, "Don't worry about it. So, what were you two fighting about?"

Sakura seemed like she was about to say something, but suddenly stopped, leaving Kai to fill in the gap, "Nothing important, just teamwork issues and things like that."

Ino didn't seem to believe him, but nodded anyway before smiling, "I have to get back to my team, good luck."

Kai smiled back and waved slightly as she walked away. Naruto took this opportunity to speak up, "Oni-san, you are acting sort of like Hinata does."

Sakura stifled a giggle, but Kai silenced her with a glare, although the laughter still shone in her eyes. Kai turned back to Naruto, "What are you talking about?"

Naruto looked thoughtful for a moment, but just shook his head, "Never mind."

Before Kai could respond, a voice rang out from the walkway above them, "Attention Genin, could I have your attention," the Hokage was standing above them all with Ibiki, Anko, and another Jonin standing behind him with a few ANBU.

"There were too many Genin who passed this year's second exam, so we are going to have to thin your numbers out a little. The finals are set to be a series of one-on-one battles in front of an audience consisting of many Konoha citizens as well as potential clients from all over the region. These exams are used to display the strength of the Shinobi of each village to individuals who may need their service. The true purpose of these exams are to regulate power among the villages and to prevent war between them, but the village with more new Chunin after the exams tends to get more missions in the end.

As I said, there are too many Genin here today, so we will have to hold a series of preliminary matches to determine who goes on to the finals. In these matches, your teammates could become your enemies, so you cannot let ties of friendship hold you back. The rules for these preliminaries are basically the same as they were for the second part of the exam. Lethal force is allowed, but is heavily frowned upon. The names of those who will fight will be displayed on the screen above my head. When your name comes up, please make you way from the walkways where you will be waiting, down to the center of the arena, where Gekko Hayate will be in charge," Sarutobi gestured to the previously unidentified Jonin, "You will listen to him at all times. Failure to do so could result in disqualification. Is this understood?"

When the Genin had all sounded their understanding, Sarutobi continued, "Are there any questions?"

Almost immediately, Kabuto spoke up, "Hokage-sama, I would like to quit."

Murmurs broke out among the remaining Genin, but Sarutobi silenced them with a raised hand, "For what reason?"

Kabuto grimaced slightly, "I sustained an injury during the second exam that I feel will prevent me from performing well enough to continue the exam."

"I see," Sarutobi said slowly before nodding, "just a moment, I will send for a medic Nin." Sarutobi gestured and one of the ANBU disappeared.

Kabuto seemed like he was going to say something, but fell silent once again when the ANBU reappeared with a medic Nin in tow. The medic quickly walked over to Kabuto and performed a Jutsu to examine him. After a few moments, the medic looked quizzically at Kabuto before nodding and jumping up to the walkway next to the Hokage. A few quick words were exchanged and Sarutobi nodded, "Normally Kabuto, I would allow you to forfeit, but if you were to do so now, we would end up with an uneven number of participants in the preliminaries. We need you to participate or else the entire exam will come out lopsided."

"I understand Hokage-sama," Kabuto sighed, "I think I'll be able to participate, thank you."

Kai turned to Naruto and whispered, "The medic didn't even do anything to him. They just checked Kabuto over and then reported to the Hokage."

Naruto nodded, "It's possible that Kabuto just didn't want to fight. He might have been too scared."

Kai nodded but his attention was quickly brought back to the Hokage as he continued speaking, "Now that that is taken care of, if you will all take your places on the walkway, we can begin." The Genin all made their way up the stairs to the walkway, gathering into their squad groups around the preliminary arena.

"Unfortunately," the elderly Hokage said, "I will not be able to observe these preliminary matches. If I were to stay, some individuals may say that I interfered in the matches due to a personal investment I have in some of the Konoha Genin here today. I wish you all good luck, and to those who pass, I will see you in the finals."

Sarutobi disappeared in a swirl of leaves along with the ANBU and Hayate immediately picked up the ball, "Alright everyone, let's get this thing going!" He gestured to the giant screen on the wall which lit up to reveal two black lines, one on the top and one on the bottom of the screen. A few seconds later, names started flashing above the lines, eventually stopping on…

--

AN: I know, that was mean, but I really didn't want to get into any of the fights just yet. First off, I need to really give some thought to how I want to do them, mostly because there are two extra people in this story that aren't there in the series, Kai and Kabuto. And I can't just have Kabuto fight Kai because Kabuto is much too powerful for that. So I will need to lay everything out on paper before I can write it in the story. Anyway, you can rest assured that that filler chapter is out of the way and the next one will be much more interesting.

Jutsu List:

_Kage Bunshin_: Shadow Clones

I hope the minor Kai x Ino stuff wasn't too bad. I am still experimenting with the relationship scenes. Please review.


	17. Chapter 17

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Chapter 17

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

AN: This chapter is being posted early in celebration of my first review from someone I didn't go to school with! YAY REVIEWS! So, thanks to Silver Shadowbreeze for the reivew and the compliment. Chunin preliminaries comin' at ya!

--

Sarutobi disappeared in a swirl of leaves and Hayate immediately picked up the ball, "Alright everyone, let's get this thing going!" He gestured to the giant screen on the wall which lit up to reveal two black lines, one on the top and one on the bottom of the screen. A few seconds later, names started flashing above the lines, eventually stopping on Sasuke Uchiha vs. Akado Yoroi.

Kai looked over toward his teammate in time to see him flinch slightly before he turned toward the stairs. Before he got very far however, Kakashi placed a hand on his shoulder. The Jonin leaned over toward Sasuke and whispered something to him before releasing him once again. Sasuke looked slightly shocked, but continued toward the stairs.

"What did you tell him Kakashi-sensei?" Kai asked, catching Naruto and Sakura's attention.

"Don't worry about it Kai," Kakashi said, leaning against the wall, "just watch Sasuke's match." Kai looked quizzically at the Jonin, hoping for a further explanation, but Kakashi merely stared at him with his visible eyebrow raised. Kai sighed and turned back around in time to see Sasuke arrive in the middle of the room to stand across from a person who must have been Yoroi with Hayate standing between the two.

Kai took a quick moment to observe the two unknowns in the ring. Hayate seemed to be your average Jonin. He was wearing the standard Jonin uniform, but that was the only thing normal about him. Kai was definitely sure that most normal people didn't look like they hadn't slept in days. From Kai's point of view, Hayate looked as though he was very sick or very, very tired.

Yoroi was another relatively normal looking individual. He was wearing a dark blue vest and pants with a white, long-sleeved shirt under the vest. He wore his hitai-ate as a bandana covering his head and also had a veil-like mask covering every part of his face other than his eyes, which seemed to be shaded behind black glasses. As Hayate looked back and forth between the two Shinobi, the reality of this situation settled onto Kai. These battles would determine when they would be taking their next steps in their ninja careers, or even if they would be taking them at all.

"Very well," Hayate said quietly, jerking Kai out of his musings, "Begin!" Yoroi immediately charged forward with surprising speed, catching Sasuke off guard. The older Genin lunged when he got into range and grabbed onto Sasuke's head with his left hand before slamming into the Uchiha making him fall to his back with Yoroi pinning him from above. Seconds later, Yoroi's hand began glowing and Sasuke seemed to grow weaker.

"Wha…What?" Sasuke demanded as his arm suddenly fell limp, "My Chakra…What are you…"

Yoroi laughed, "Just now noticing are you?"

Kai looked on, confused, until Kakashi spoke up, "This isn't good."

"What is he doing to Sasuke?" Kai asked, hoping for an answer this time.

"It seems that Yoroi is draining Sasuke's chakra," Kakashi said in his normal monotone.

Kai's eyes widened in shock and he turned back toward the match in progress in time to see Sasuke's other arm fall limply to the floor. Things weren't looking good. If Yoroi was able to steal all of Sasuke's chakra, he wouldn't be able to fight back!

Just as Kai was starting to think there was no hope, Sasuke proved his resilience. With a grunt of effort and a scream of defiance, Sasuke brought his legs up and pushed Yoroi off of him, sending the other Genin stumbling backward several yards. Yoroi quickly regained his feet as Sasuke struggled up, panting heavily. With a laugh, Yoroi regarded the Genin, "So you've still got some strength left after all, that's very impressive. Don't worry though, I'll make this quick!"

Yoroi once again charged toward the drained Uchiha and quickly put him on the defensive. As Kai watched, Sasuke narrowly dodged strike after strike from Yoroi's glowing hand. It didn't seem like Sasuke had too much left, and Kai knew that if something didn't change soon, he would end up losing his match.

Suddenly, Sasuke froze and Yoroi's hand brushed by his face, making brief contact before Sasuke jerked away and stumbled past Yoroi who merely stood there with a malicious smirk playing in his eyes. Panting heavily, Sasuke turned back toward Yoroi, standing around ten feet away, and watched as he turned around to face him. Sasuke was in trouble, and he knew it, but there was very little he could do at this point.

Just as he was about to give in to the inevitable, he heard a shout from the crowd behind him, "Sasuke! What was that! You call yourself an Uchiha?" Naruto had practically jumped onto the walkway's railing as he shouted at his teammate, "Stop fooling around and get it in gear!"

Sasuke seemed slightly surprised at first, but he quickly recovered and turned back to his opponent in time to see him charging again as he screamed, "Don't turn your back on me!" Sasuke smirked as Yoroi neared him and dropped to the ground just as he entered striking distance. Sasuke planted one hand solidly on the ground and used it as leverage to lift himself up and land a powerful kick to Yoroi's chin.

Kai watched in awe as Yoroi flew into high the air while Sasuke flipped over onto all fours before springing up after him. Sasuke flew up behind Yoroi and placed two hands in the center of his back before freezing. The two Genin just floated through the air for a few seconds that seemed to go on for hours. Kai was unconsciously holding his breath until Sasuke moved once again.

The Uchiha placed his hand on the center of Yoroi's back and pushed off so that they spun in opposite directions. Then, as Yoroi turned, Sasuke brought his foot up to kick him. The only problem was that the Genin managed to get his arm up in time to block the kick. Sasuke just pushed off of his arm and spun around again, bringing himself to Yoroi's other side and delivering a powerful backhanded blow to his opponent's neck, sending the Genin falling toward the ground.

As Kai looked on, mouth agape, Sasuke grabbed Yoroi by the collar and pulled him back into easy striking distance before flipping around and delivering a dropkick to Yoroi's stomach while shouting, "_Shishi Rendan!"_ Then Sasuke's momentum caught up to him. Sasuke hit the ground hard enough to cause him to bounce slightly and slide along the ground before coming to a rest lying facedown several yards from his downed opponent.

Hayate coughed slightly and walked over to check Yoroi's condition, "Well," he said, "this one's had it…" Sasuke groaned as he rolled over and pulled himself to a sitting position, "I'm declaring this match over, as the winner of this preliminary round, Sasuke Uchiha, advances to the finals."

Naruto and Sakura immediately began shouting their congratulations while Kai simply smiled. Sasuke must have been more conscious during the fight in the Forest of Death than they had thought. When Sasuke had started off his _Shishi Rendan_, Sasuke had been using the same form as Lee's lotus technique. The only logical way that that could have happened was if he had used his Sharingan to copy it. If that was so, then Sasuke was probably pretty messed up right now. Kai had seen the damage that Lee had taken when he had used that form, and the big haired Genin had trained for it. It must have been especially hard on Sasuke who had not been prepared for what it could do.

Down below, Sasuke had been about to fall backwards in exhaustion when Kakashi appeared behind him in time to prop him up with his knee. Kai couldn't tell what they were saying, but it didn't seem to make Sasuke very happy. Eventually though, Sasuke struggled to his feet and followed Kakashi out of the room, holding his hand over the left side of his neck.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto suddenly said, bringing Kai's attention to his other teammates, "did you see a weird mark on Sasuke's neck during the fight?"

Sakura seemed to panic a little before she spoke up, "No Naruto, I didn't see anything." Kai looked over at Sakura, about to speak, but she gave him a pleading look that silenced him. He would have to find out what that was about later. Naruto didn't know about the seal on Sasuke's neck that had allowed him to defeat the Oto Genin in the forest, but Sakura did. That must have been why Sasuke had paused in the air before attacking Yoroi. The seal might have been activating, and judging by Kakashi's reaction when Kai had told him about the mark; it could not have been a good thing. The seal granted incredible power, that was certain, but there had to be some kind of terrible cost to go along with it. Nothing like that ever came without a cost.

Hayate was not burdened with thoughts like Kai's however, since he coughed and then called out to the remaining Genin while Yoroi was taken out on a stretcher, "Ok then, let's move 

on to the second match." Hayate gestured once more to the big screen which began flashing through names once again. After a few seconds, the screen settled onto Sabaku no Gaara, and Yakushi Kabuto.

Kai's face firmed as the proctor called down the two Genin. He would finally get to see what Gaara was capable of. He didn't envy Kabuto in the least. First off, the Genin had seemed as though he had lost his nerve to be here in the first place. And then there was the fact that no one knew what Gaara was capable of, but Kabuto had been the one to tell them that the Suna Genin had returned from all his missions without a scratch on him. There was no way that Kai would have been able to stand so calmly, knowing that he was going to have to fight against an almost complete unknown like Gaara.

"Combatants ready?" Hayate looked between the two Genin and waited for a few seconds before jumping back several feet, "Then begin!"

The two Genin glared at each other for a second before Kabuto brought his hands out in front of him and curled his fingers slightly. After a moment, his hands started to glow a light blue that quickly shifted to the tips of his fingers. Kai was confused. It looked like he was using _Shosen no Jutsu_, but why was he using a healing technique at the beginning of battle?

"He is using a more advanced form of the Jutsu Kai," Kakashi spoke up, guessing what the Genin was thinking of, "With enough chakra control, the _Shosen no Jutsu_ can be used to form blades known as chakra scalpels. The Jutsu was originally intended for medical use, which is fairly obvious since its main purpose is speeding up cell regeneration to heal, but Medic Nin can also use the scalpels for surgeries since they can be used to cut beneath a patient's skin without actually cutting the skin. For example, if you were to gain enough skill in the Jutsu and if you knew enough about the human body, you could essentially disable a person temporarily with precision cuts to certain tendons and muscles. If used to its full potential, that technique can be as effective as the Hyuga Clan's _Jyuuken _Taijutsu style."

Kai nodded and turned back to the fight, eager to see how Kabuto would use this technique and how Gaara would respond. The Suna Genin didn't seem to have any obvious weapons with him. In fact, other than the gourd on his back, he didn't have anything out of the ordinary at all.

Kabuto suddenly charged toward Gaara with his hands out to his sides, probably hoping to catch the seemingly distant Genin off guard. Just as Kabuto came within striking distance however, the cork of Gaara's gourd popped out of place and a stream of sand snaked out and slammed into Kabuto, effectively stopping his charge, before it wrapped around him and lifted him into the air in front of Gaara. Slowly, the sand pulled Kabuto closer to Gaara until there was only a few inches between their faces before Gaara shrugged and the sand flung Kabuto across the room where he slammed into the wall and slid down to the floor.

Kabuto lay against the wall, unmoving for several seconds before Hayate walked over to check him. After a quick inspection, Hayate stood back up and turned to face the crowd, "Kabuto is unconscious, I declare Gaara to be the winner of this match."

Slowly, Gaara turned and walked back toward the stairs, seemingly unaware that the sand seemed to be alive as it surrounded the discarded cork and pulled it back into place in the gourd. Kai was speechless. Gaara had demolished Kabuto without even moving. Somehow, the sand had done all the work. What was Gaara, and what else was he capable of?

Hayate seemed to be in a hurry though, since he quickly gestured to the screen once more which began cycling through names again. After a few seconds, the names settled onto Kankuro and Yamanaka Ino.

Kai quickly glanced over to Ino and saw her face set in determination as she walked over toward the stairs. Kai shot her a quick smile that she gratefully returned before taking the first step down toward the arena floor. By the time she got down, Kankuro was already waiting for her with his strange bundle standing next to him, held up by one of his hands resting on the top.

"Combatants ready?" Hayate said once more, glancing at the two Genin, "Begin!" Hayate jumped back once more and Ino wasted no time in charging in for a quick Taijutsu exchange.

Kankuro seemed surprised by the Kunoichi's quick charge, so much so that he dropped his bundle and took a quick step back before he began blocking and parrying Ino's punches. Ino continued to press her advantage for a few more seconds before she was forced to jump back to avoid a savage kick Kankuro sent her way.

Panting slightly, Ino straightened up and pulled out a kunai which she used to resume her attack. This time, Kankuro pulled out his own weapon and met her strike for strike. The two fighters made their way across the arena floor, slowly bringing Kankuro closer and closer to the wall. Finally, Kankuro's eyes widened as he bumped into the wall and realized he was in trouble.

Ino, smirking slightly delivered a strong kick to Kankuro's stomach, making him double over in pain, before bringing her right knee up and smashing him in the face. Surprisingly though, Ino was the one who cried out in pain and stumbled back holding her knee.

Kankuro smirked as he stood up, showing a large crack running across his face. Slowly, his face crumbled, revealing the head of a wooden puppet with a maniacal grin plastered across its face. Then, half-way across the arena floor, the now forgotten bundle shook slightly before a hand emerged and grasped the end of one of the bandages wrapped around it and pulled, sending all the bandages around the bundle into the air to revealing Kankuro. The Suna Nin was standing in a slight crouch with one hand holding the end of the bandage and chakra strings extending from the other that stretched over to the puppet near Ino.

Kai was very impressed. It was one thing for a person to fight like Kankuro had been on their own without taking any severe hits, but for someone to be able to make a puppet fight like that while they were across the room was impressive all on its own. Ino seemed to have realized what was going on as well because she quickly jumped off to the side, hoping to get out from between the Suna Nin and his puppet, but she hadn't counted on her injured knee.

As Ino landed, she cried out in pain once more when her leg gave out from beneath her. Kankuro laughed lightly as he walked toward Ino with his puppet floating just behind him, "You should just give up now, you can't win."

Ino wasn't done yet though, before anyone realized what she was doing, Ino had brought her hands up in a familiar hand sign, "_Shintenshin no Jutsu!_" She was hoping to catch the Suna Nin off guard and force him to forfeit, but she hadn't counted on Kankuro's reflexes.

When Kankuro saw Ino move, he jerked his puppet in front of him, using it like a shield against whatever Jutsu the girl would pull out on him. When there was no immediate effect, Kankuro moved Karasu to the side and looked upon Ino as she lay slumped forward a few feet away from him.

Looking quizzically to Hayate, Kankuro took a tentative step toward Ino, not knowing if this was some kind of trick when someone shouted from the stands, "Call the match proctor." Kai looked toward the voice and saw Ino's sensei, Sarutobi Asuma, place one foot on the railing in front of him before jumping down to the arena floor.

"Ino is out of the match," Asuma continued as he began walking toward the unconscious Genin, "her Jutsu was meant to allow her to take control of Kankuro's mind, but the puppet got 

in the way and deflected her spirit. She won't recover for another few minutes." Asuma then bent down and picked Ino up before turning and carrying her back to her teammates.

Hayate nodded and Kankuro backed away, heading over to collect the bandages that he had left on the ground. "This fight is over," Hayate called out before coughing slightly, "the winner of the third match is Kankuro."

Kai was worried about Ino, but his attention was drawn once more to the board where names were flashing across it once again. After a few more seconds of waiting that seemed to last forever, the board stopped on Kinuta Dosu and Wareta Kai.

Kai froze for a moment when he read the name of his opponent. Wasn't Dosu the name of one of the Sound Genin he had fought in the forest? His question was answered when he heard the familiar voice of his opponent calling up from the floor, "Are you just going to stand there staring into space, or are we going to fight?"

Kai smirked slightly before turning toward the steps. "Kick his ass Oni-san," Naruto grinned.

"You can do it Kai," Sakura said quietly as he stepped past her, "beat that guy into the ground."

Kai paused slightly before giving Sakura a small smile and continuing to the stairs and then to the arena floor. "It's about time," Dosu taunted, "You don't have your girlfriends or the Uchiha to cover for you this time punk. How do you think you can beat me now?"

"Wait and see," Kai smiled before sinking into a fighting stance and placing his hand on the hilt of his broken sword, "just wait and see."

Hayate observed their exchange silently before lifting his hand into the air, "Combatants ready? Then begin!"

Hayate quickly jumped back and was only barely able to get out of the way before Kai sprinted past him, covering the short ten feet between him and his opponent in a matter of seconds before delivering an elbow to his opponent's stomach. The Oto Genin had been expecting an attack with Kai's sword, and so was entirely caught off guard by the Taijutsu strike. Dosu doubled over and clutched his stomach as Kai stepped back, but recovered in time to block Kai's next punch.

The two Genin exchanged a few blows, both with certain goals in mind. Kai needed to keep Dosu on the defensive for as long as possible so he couldn't get his sound techniques into play, while Dosu was trying to get away so he could do just that. Finally, Dosu managed to catch one of Kai's punches and pulled the Genin off balance before bringing his knee into Kai's stomach.

As Kai collapsed onto the ground, Dosu jumped back and pulled up his extra long sleeve and began focusing chakra into the newly repaired metal device on his arm, "You're finished now!"

Kai struggled to his feet just in time to see Dosu coming at him with a right hook aimed for his head. Instinctively, Kai jerked his head back but immediately fell once more as the chakra-powered sound waves began to hammer on his eardrums.

Kai fought down his heaving stomach and struggled back to his feet, fighting to keep his balance. "Nice trick," Kai said, rubbing his head where he had hit the floor, "would you like to see one of mine?" Kai formed a tiger seal and began focusing his chakra to his eyes, only to realize that he wasn't sure exactly how much chakra he needed to unlock the second level of his Miraigan.

That didn't stop Kai though; he merely closed his eyes and waited, increasing his chakra flow and hoping to find the level that would bring the tingling feeling that had saved him in his fight against Hito. Finally, when he had increased the flow to a point that he wouldn't be able to hold for more than a few minutes, Kai felt his ears begin to tingle. Opening his eyes, he saw Dosu charging toward him, aiming another punch straight for his face. Kai quickly fell backward, catching himself with his hands, and pushed himself up, kicking Dosu in the chin in a similar fashion to what Sasuke had done earlier.

--

In the stands, Lee was watching, wondering how many more people were going to try to steal the Taijutsu style that Gai had taught him before the preliminaries were over.

--

Dosu flew up a few feet before he fell once more to the ground a few yards away. Kai had not put very much chakra into the kick; he knew he would need all the power he had just to keep his Miraigan going long enough to be useful. Suddenly, Kai's ears began tingling again just before he once again lost his balance and fell to the side holding his ears as he cried out in pain.

Dosu silently congratulated himself on hitting his mark from a distance as he struggled to his feet and smirked at the writhing form of Kai, "I though you were going to show me one of your tricks. What happened?"

Kai slowly got his feet under him again and rose once more to glare at Dosu who's eyes widened, "Is that the Miraigan that we were told about? It doesn't seem like it helped you too much."

Kai remained silent has he drew out a kunai and sand into a fighting stance before shifting his chakra flow to include the first level of the Miraigan as well. He had a plan; he just hoped that he had enough chakra to make it work.

"So are you just going to stand there all day?" Dosu taunted, "There are other Shinobi that need to get to their fights you know. You aren't doing them any favors by just standing there, and I would imagine that that bloodline of yours takes a lot of chakra to maintain."

There was a collective gasp from those in the crowd who overheard what Dosu had said. Those who didn't quickly turned to those who had, with the exception of Gaara of course, and asked what had been said. After a few seconds, Kai could hear several confused voices coming from the walkway around the room; he had suddenly become something more than just another Genin.

Kai sneered; Dosu had just let everyone in the room know his secret. He would have to hope that he passed the exams now; otherwise the council may end up taking control of his life. "You just gave me another reason to kick your ass Dosu," Kai said viciously, "You stand there talking big, but it seems to me as though your best weapon is that mouth of yours. You're good enough at getting under people's skin, but when it comes to fighting, all you can do is throw around a few sound waves and hope that you can incapacitate your enemy. Without that thing on your arm, you're nothing!"

Dosu smiled, "Ah, but with it, I have the advantage. As you said, I am skilled in goading people into a rage; you however, are not."

"And yet you still stand there waiting for me to attack instead of going on the offensive yourself," Kai said, slowly recovering from the last attack and simultaneously blocking out the voices coming from the walkways, "The only time you have come after me was when I wasn't able to focus on you completely. Deep down, you know you're scared because of what Hito told 

you about me. You know that you only beat me before because I wasn't at full strength. You know that I can beat you easily if you come at me head on, and that is why you stay away."

Dosu laughed uneasily, "Alright, just to humor you, I'll take the offensive!" Dosu quickly dashed forward and right into Kai's trap. Kai waited a second before throwing his Kunai toward Dosu, only for the blade to get wedge into the ground at the Genin's feet. Dosu quickly changed course, dodging to his left, but Kai suddenly jumped in front of him and delivered a powerful kick to Dosu's Melody Arm.

Everyone in the room immediately covered their ears with their hands. Kai and Dosu both fell to the ground, writhing in pain as the device seemed to scream in the aftermath of Kai's chakra powered kick. Once the noise died down, both Genin struggled to their feet and stepped back to put some more distance between them.

Dosu glared at the Konoha Genin, "You fool! You messed up my Melody Arm!"

"And that is exactly what I was going for," Kai smirked. Dosu, realizing what Kai was talking about, immediately reached for the trailing sleeve that had fallen over his hand once again, hoping to reset his weapon before Kai could attack him, but he was out of luck. Acting quickly, Kai threw several shuriken at Dosu, pinning his sleeve to the ground.

Dosu glared at him once more, rage apparent in his eyes while Kai's eyes showed no emotion hidden behind the spiraling star of his Miraigan. Growling, Dosu pulled out his own Kunai and moved to slash through his sleeve, but Kai was upon him in an instant. When Dosu brought the blade down, Kai grabbed his hand and pushed it so that the blade pierced through Dosu's sleeve over the Melody Arm.

Once again the arena was filled with a harsh chime, but this one was only the unpleasant sound of metal on metal as it resonated through the amplifier on Dosu's arm. It was unpleasant to listen to, but not damaging. Grinning, Kai stepped back and deactivated the first level of his bloodline to regard Dosu's horrified face. "Now, your done," Kai said so only Dosu could hear before he delivered a punch to the Genin's stomach that caused him to double over once more.

Kai took a few steps back before forming a familiar cross-shaped hand sign and calling out, "_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu_!" Instantly, three more Kais appeared in a cloud of smoke, surrounding the stunned Oto Genin.

Dosu looked up to see his new situation and his face paled, "Now j-just wait a second," he stammered with his hands out in front of him, trying to ward off his fate.

"Your fate was decided when you attacked my teammates in the forest," the four Kais said, creating an eerie echo effect, "You're finished!" Before Dosu could react, he was being bombarded by a continuous barrage of punches and kicks being delivered by Kai and his clones. After a short time, the Konoha Genin and his clones jumped back, panting heavily, and inspected their work.

Hayate took this time to step forward and inspect the bruised form of Dosu, "The winner of the fourth match is Wareta Kai."

Kai was caught off guard by the proctor's announcement. He had been so heavily focused on the match that he had completely forgotten that there was anyone else there. Kai straightened up and looked around in a daze as his clones disappeared. "I won…" he mumbled before he turned and took a stumbling step toward the stairs, only to pass out and fall flat on his face.

--

Kai groaned as he woke once more in a strange bed. "It's about time you woke up Oni-san," Naruto said from Kai's bedside, "although you weren't out for as long this time."

"What happened," Kai asked as he heaved himself into a sitting position and swung his legs over the side of the bed, grateful that he wasn't wearing a hospital gown.

Naruto sighed as he shifted in his chair before smiling, "You beat down Dosu, that Shino kid who graduated with us beat Zaku, I demolished Kiba, Neji beat Lee, Temari beat that Tenten girl on Lee and Neji's team, Shikamaru beat Kin, Choji beat Kabuto's other teammate Tsurugi Misumi, and Hinata and Sakura came to a draw so they were both eliminated."

"So, now what do we do?" Kai asked.

"Well," Naruto said as he stood up and gestured for Kai to do the same, "Now you and I go back into the main room so that everyone can find out who they will be facing in the finals. We were all just waiting for you to wake up." Naruto turned and began walking out of the room, leaving Kai behind. It seemed as though Naruto was very excited about the finals, but who could really blame him.

"By the way," Kai asked once he had caught up with Naruto, "Do you know why I passed out. The last thing I remember was beating Dosu into the ground with my _Kage Bunshin_."

Naruto nodded, "The nurse said that your body just gave out. The sound waves did more to damage your equilibrium than you must have realized because you basically just shut down once your adrenaline wore off."

Kai sighed, "I am just getting sick of passing out like that." Naruto either didn't hear him or couldn't think of a response because silence reigned over the two Genin for the next few minutes. Finally, Kai recognized the buzz of light conversation as they rounded a corner and came back into the arena.

The talk stopped almost immediately when Kai and Naruto came into sight. "Hey everyone, Kai's awake," Naruto shouted, waving energetically to the waiting Genin as he raced down the steps, leaving Kai behind at the top.

As he made his way down the stairs at a more reasonable speed, Kai felt everyone's eyes on him. Now more than ever, Kai's shyness made itself known, and he wished that something would take the attention off of him.

Thankfully, that distraction came in the form of the Hokage appearing in front of the crowd as Kai came up to the edge of the crowd of Genin. "Congratulations Genin," Sarutobi announced as he came into sight and then waited to make sure he had everyone's attention before continuing, "Those of you who passed will be moving on to the finals which will take place in one month. If you will look to my left, Anko has a box containing several slips of paper. On each paper is a number that corresponds with a position on the bracket for the finals. So, when Ibiki calls your name, come up and pull out one piece of paper and then read your number out loud. Once everyone has gone, you will be free to do whatever you wish until the finals. Does everyone understand?"

When no one spoke up, Sarutobi gestured to Ibiki, who stepped forward and called out the first name on his list, "Uchiha Sasuke."

Kai noticed Sasuke for the first time as he walked up to Anko and reached into the box she held before pulling out a slip of paper and glancing at if before saying, "I got number five." Sasuke seemed to be relatively normal, but Kai couldn't help but wonder what Kakashi had done about the seal.

Ibiki continued immediately, "Sabaku no Gaara."

The Suna Nin walked up and pulled out his paper before calling out, "Nine," and returning to his teammates.

Over the next few minutes the process was repeated with each of the preliminary victors, one by one until everyone had drawn their numbers. "Alright," Sarutobi said before turning to the screen that had outlined the preliminary matches, "So the final matches will be as follows." The screen suddenly lit up again, showing a bracket with five matches in the first round with the winner of the fifth match getting a buy into the finals.

"Match one will be Wareta Kai against Hyuga Neji, match two will be Uzumaki Naruto against Nara Shikamaru, match three will be Uchiha Sasuke against Sabaku no Gaara, match four is Temari against Aburame Shino, and the fifth match will be Kankuro against Akimichi Choji," Sarutobi finished reading from the board and turned back toward the crowd, "Before you all leave I want to make sure you understand one more thing. Winning the tournament does not automatically make you a Chunin. In fact, it is possible for you to lose your first match in the finals and still end up as a Chunin. Those who advance will be chosen by a panel of impartial judges. Ultimately, your goal will not be to beat your opponent so much as to fight to the best of your ability. Good luck to everyone and I will see you all in one month." With that, the elderly Hokage disappeared in a swirl of leaves, immediately causing light conversation to spring up everywhere.

Kai turned to Naruto and was about to say something, but suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to see Neji, along with his teammates and the rest of the Konoha Genin in Kai's graduating class, standing behind him.

Kai shifted uneasily, but wasn't left waiting too long before Neji spoke up, "What was that Oto Genin talking about during your match?"

Kai began to get nervous but still managed to give Neji a puzzled look, "What do you mean?"

Neji glared at Kai for his intentional stupidity, "Why did he say you had a kekkei genkai? What exactly is the Miraigan?"

--

AN: That was a fun chapter to write. By the way, before anyone starts complaining about Sasuke's match, I need to set the record straight. I know that I skipped over Sasuke's fight with Lee before the first part of the Chunin exams, and I realized that when I wrote the end of his fight against Yoroi. I decided that I would have to twist things a little more so that he could learn the lotus form another way without me having to go back to re-write an earlier chapter since I am far too lazy for that to be an option.

Jutsu List:

Not really a Jutsu but… _Shishi Rendan_: Lion's Barrage

_Shosen no Jutsu_: Mystical Palm Technique

_Jyuuken:_ Gentle Fist Technique

_Shintenshin no Jutsu:_ Mind Body Switch Technique

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:_ Shadow Clone Technique

BTW: Karasu is Kankuro's puppet

Next chapter we find out what Kai's training schedule for the next month is! Also, how will the other Konoha Genin react to the knowledge of Kai's bloodline? Will Kai even consider telling everyone with Neji standing right in front of him when they are due to fight in one month? Review please


	18. Chapter 18

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Chapter 18

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but there will be another new character in this chapter that I do own : )

AN: Silver Shadowbreeze, you are awesome. I cannot tell you how great it is to get imput on my fic from someone besides my friends. I can't answer your questions without giving away too much of the story, but rest assured, all of your questions should be answered by the end of this part of Kai's story.

This chapter should end up as a filler before the Chunin Exam Finals. I plan on going over the story so far in this chapter. I apologize if some people find things like this to be boring, but you shouldn't skip this chapter since the rewind will not last too long.

--

"Why did he say you had a kekkei genkai? What exactly is the Miraigan?" Neji demanded.

Kai stood silently, staring at the Hyuga with a blank look on his face. He had to be careful about how he handled this. On one hand, he would have to explain himself no matter what; otherwise someone might mention something about his bloodline that would make its way to the council. If that happened, the council members would almost certainly decide to retire him from duty immediately. On the other hand, Neji was his next opponent. He couldn't exactly reveal all the secrets of his Miraigan to his opponent in the finals.

He was saved from immediately responding when someone spoke up from the back of the small crowd, "He doesn't have to explain anything to you Neji."

Kai watched as Ino came into view from behind the rest of the Genin and walked over to stand next to Kai. She was walking with a bit of a limp, but otherwise seemed completely recovered from her match. "If you want to ask him about his bloodline, then why don't you start telling him all about what you can do?"

Neji turned toward Ino and glared at her, "This has nothing to do with you Yamanaka," but she didn't back down. There was a definite feeling of unease in the air, and Kai knew that he had to break it.

"Ino," Kai said softly, "It's alright." Sighing heavily, Kai looked Neji in his pale eyes and continued, "I knew the moment that Dosu mentioned my bloodline that something like this would happen. And, unless I miss my guess, I don't think this has much to do with our upcoming match, at least not as the main reason behind him approaching me."

Neji nodded sternly, "If you have a bloodline, and I don't know about it, then that means the council doesn't either. I studied the files of every Konoha Genin entering the Chunin Exams this year, including yours, and there wasn't anything about a bloodline there."

Kai paused for a moment, how could anyone have the time, much less the desire, to study the files of more than seventy Genin? Realizing that everyone was waiting for him to continue, Kai shook himself out of his stupor, "I knew that I had only two options in this situation. The first one was to play dumb and hope I was just left alone; obviously that is no longer an option. All I can do now is plead my case and hope for the best."

Neji nodded, "Should we head somewhere a little more hospitable then," he glanced around, "and away from unwanted listeners?" Kai nodded and Neji turned away and headed for the exit, "I'll meet you outside the forest and we can make further meeting plans from there." Kai sighed again before making his own way out, closely followed by his teammates and Ino. After a moment of hesitation, the rest of the Konoha Genin followed as well.

As they left the tower to began the trek out of the Forest of Death that would take up the next few hours, Ino placed a hand lightly on Kai's shoulder, "I hope you know what you're doing Kai."

Kai gave her a weak smile, "You and me both…"

--

Several hours later, Kai once again found himself face to face with the furious form of Hyuga Neji. "What took you so long?" Neji demanded once Kai came into sight.

"Not everyone here was a rookie of the year once Neji," Tenten scolded him, "lighten up, we should be grateful he is even answering your question."

Neji scowled, but nodded, "Fine, where should we go for our meeting?"

The crowd of Genin fell silent as they all wracked their brains for a neutral place they could go that would keep their conversation private. Finally, Naruto perked up and shouted, "How about Ichiraku Ramen?"

Kai laughed lightly, "Naruto, Ichiraku would be a good idea if it was more than six stools at a bar. There are more than six people who are going to want to hear what I have to say. You just suggested it because you want some ramen." Naruto's stomach growled on cue and Kai chuckled once again.

Tenten looked toward the setting sun with a thoughtful look on her face, "A restaurant would be a good idea though. It is getting kind of late so there won't be too many people there. It should be relatively easy to seat all thirteen of us and still maintain some privacy."

"That will do," Neji nodded, still scowling, "any suggestions as to which one?" Once again, silence filled the clearing outside the Forest of Death. Several people, Choji for instance, had some ideas, but Neji's attitude seemed to dampen their spirits.

Tenten seemed to be the only one not affected by his harsh demeanor, and she was the one who finally sighed and spoke up, "Alright everyone, follow me."

Kai and the others didn't hesitate to follow as Tenten pivoted and leapt to the top of the wall surrounding the forest before springing to the nearest rooftop. The thirteen Genin made quite the sight as they traveled in a group across Konoha. Several civilians who saw them immediately began screaming, thinking that they had been deployed to head off some kind of trouble, but their trip was mostly uneventful.

Finally, Tenten dropped down to street level and made her way toward a small building with a sign that marked it as a tea house. Sighing in resignation, Kai followed the Kunoichi inside before heading to a table that was big enough to fit thirteen chairs around it.

Once everyone was seated Kai cleared his throat and silence fell immediately. "Alright," Kai started, slightly unsettled by the attention he was getting, "I think that in order to answer Neji's question I will have to explain my past, or at least what I know of it."

"What do you mean by that," Neji demanded fiercely. The former Rookie of the Year seemed intent to crush Kai at every opportunity.

Kai flinched slightly under Neji's glare, but managed to relax himself and continued talking, "When I first came here, I was believed to have been suffering the effects of amnesia, but now I know that my memories were essentially removed by a hostile Nin named Zanbifushi Hito." Kai paused for a moment before he continued, "Some of you already know this story, so I ask that you bear with me for now, everything I have to say will only make sense if it is told in order. Ever since I arrived, I've had to fight for everything I had. From what I've found out and what the doctors and Kakashi-sensei have been able to tell me, Hito erased my memories in an attempt to use a forbidden Jutsu to take over my body as his own. The reason that I know as many Jutsu as I do is because Hito implanted his memories into my mind to help with the transfer process before Kakashi interrupted the ritual, stopping him from taking my body. While Kakashi fought with Hito, one of Hito's subordinates tried to beat me into unconsciousness, but somehow my chakra system chose that time to activate. From what I have been able to gather, before Hito took me from my home and killed my family, I was not able to use chakra in any way. Because of that, I've had to work hard just to gain what little control I have now, but still I cannot easily control more than the most basic and the most advanced Jutsu, which only covers about a third of the Jutsu I have at my disposal."

"And you expect us to believe this?" Neji said angrily, slamming his hands down on the table, "stop telling us these ridiculous lies and get to the point!"

"He isn't lying Neji," Ino said with fury to rival the Hyuga's, "I had to enter his mind to help him fight off a piece of Hito's consciousness that was created from his old memories."

"Just because you say it is true Yamanaka," Neji countered as he rounded his attention to Ino, "does not make it a fact!"

"Neji," Tenten said, once again providing the voice of reason for the enraged Hyuga, "just listen to the story before you make any more judgments. Like I said before, he doesn't even have to tell us anything if he doesn't want to." Most of the Genin around the table were simply sitting there, listening to the exchange and trying to absorb everything Kai was saying. Kai only wished that they would offer their support along with Ino. He needed all the help he could get.

Neji grumbled some more before settling down as Kai shot Tenten a smile of thanks. She shook her head and gestured to Kai who continued speaking, "Anyway, by reviewing Hito's memories, along with some help from Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, I was able to get good enough to graduate with this year's group, even though I only arrived in Konoha a few months before."

There was random mumbling for a few seconds before Kiba spoke up, "So it was like that part of Hito in your head was telling you how to do things all the time?"

Kai shook his head, "No, Hito never showed up in my mind until after my mission to Wave Country. While I was there I was forced to learn how to use a katana very quickly and Hito knew how. Hito appeared when I accessed his memories so I could fight." Kai paused again, wondering how to word the next part of his story, "Back to the story, I unlocked the first level of my bloodline shortly after graduation. Apparently, the reason Hito wanted me was so he could harness the power of the Miraigan and use it for whatever his plans may have been."

"What exactly does the Miraigan do?" Shikamaru asked as he looked away from the window where he had been watching the clouds.

"The first level of the Miraigan allows me to see into the future a varying amount depending on the amount of chakra I use. This is a useful ability, but it has limitations. For example, I can see what is going to happen in the future, but only where I look when I use it. If I were to use it now, I would see the customers who would come in later, or, with enough chakra, I could find out when we would be leaving. The biggest limitation, however, is that the future is always subject to change. If someone had been thinking about ordering one thing, and I saw them get it in the future, but then they changed their mind while I was using the Miraigan, the image I saw would immediately change to them getting the new item."

"So that makes it less practical for use in battle," Neji mumbled. Kai sighed once again; he knew that Neji would end up adapting his battle strategy in the finals to counter the Miraigan now. Kai would just have to neglect to tell anyone about the second level, just so he would have an edge. It may end up being the only thing that could save him when he and Neji actually fought.

"When you told us about the Miraigan," Neji began, "you said you unlocked the 'first level,' which implies that there is a second level. What about that?"

Kai met Neji's eyes, "I'm afraid I can't tell you about that Neji."

The Hyuga immediately grew furious, "And why is that?"

Kai smirked slightly, "Because I can't go telling you all my secrets before our match? I have to have something to pull out on you." Neji seemed as though he was about to protest further, but one look from around the table showed that he had no support, so he just let it drop.

"Now this is where I need to ask for your help." Kai said in a more somber tone, immediately getting everyone's full attention due to the sudden change, "If the council finds out that I have a bloodline, they may end up enacting Clan Reconstruction laws and revoke my status as a Genin so they can use me for breeding stock. It may be true that the more bloodlines Konoha has, the stronger we will be, but that is all they will think about. It won't mean anything to them that they are ruining the life of a twelve year old boy. I want to ask you all to keep this a secret so that the council doesn't find out. The Hokage told me that the only way for me to be safe is to become a Chunin as quickly as possible. He said that as a Chunin I would have enough rank to keep me out of the council's reach without them taking any severe actions."

"So," Choji spoke up for the first time, sympathy written all over his face, "if the council finds out about the Miraigan, you will end up being forced to retire and placed under the protective custody of the Council?"

Kai nodded solemnly, "Yeah, the council will keep me until I am old enough to legally wed, unless they can find a way around that too. Then they will probably marry me to as many women as they can find to try and produce more Miraigan users as quickly as possible. I really don't want that to happen." Naruto and Sakura both looked like they were about to say something that would inevitably embarrass Kai, but he silenced them with a glare before continuing, "So, can I count on you all to keep my secret?" Kai held his breath as, one by one, all the Genin around the table gave their consent to keep the Miraigan a secret until only Neji was left.

Still glaring at Kai, Neji spoke up, "Why should I help you? Why should I believe anything you just said?" Kai flinched, he had been afraid that Neji would say something like that. The Hyuga seemed as if he wanted to stop Kai everywhere he went.

"Neji," Lee said, turning to his pale-eyed teammate, "we have no reason to believe that Kai is lying."

"But we don't have any reason to believe he is telling the truth either," Neji countered, "I for one am not inclined to believe Kai and that flower girl without further proof."

Kai thought for a moment before he got an idea, "Alright Neji, you won't believe us, but how about the head of your clan?"

Neji's eyes narrowed further, "What are you talking about?"

Kai knew he had him now, "Hyuga Hiashi was called by the Hokage to help with identifying my bloodline and how to work it. The Hokage had to explain my story to him, so he knows that I am not lying."

"What are you lying about Kai?"

Kai stiffened immediately and turned toward the door behind him to see Kakashi walking in.

"I had to tell them about my bloodline Kakashi-sensei," Kai responded, "But Neji thinks I'm lying."

Kakashi nodded in understanding, "Well Neji, if you won't take Kai's word for it, you could ask Hiashi, or the Hokage if it really came to it. I would suggest myself, but I doubt you would be any more inclined to believe me than Kai since I am his sensei. Anyway, I am here to take Kai to see the Hoakge, so I hope your meeting is done."

"What does the old man need Kai for Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto said, jumping from his seat, "he isn't in trouble is he?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No, someone arrived during the second exam that the Hokage wants Kai to meet." Kai's eyes widened in excitement, it must be his new sealing teacher! Sarutobi had said that he was going to bring in a new teacher for him, but had they really arrived so soon?

Rising from his seat, Kai bowed to everyone at the table, "Thank you for listening and thank you for your help. Neji, please talk to either Hiashi-san or the Hokage before you make your final decision. I will see you in the finals." With one final bow and a wave to his teammates and Ino, Kai turned and followed Kakashi out of the tea house before they both jumped onto the rooftops and started for the Hokage Tower.

"So," Kai said as he drew even with his sensei, "did Sarutobi-sensei say who it was who arrived?"

Kakashi shook his head, "No, he wouldn't say who it was, only that I needed to find you right away."

Kai was silent for a moment before he continued, "How did you find us anyway?"

Kakashi chuckled, "I followed the reports of a squad of ninja being mobilized to protect the village." Kai laughed along with the one-eyed Jonin as they landed in front of the doors to the tower.

The two Shinobi sobered as they entered and exchanged greetings with the secretary in the main lobby before making their way over to the stairs and up to the Hokage's office.

When they reached the top, Kakashi knocked lightly and waited until he heard a muffled response from the Hokage before he opened the door. Sarutobi, who was sitting behind his desk, looked up as they entered and waved a greeting, "Congratulations on passing the Chunin preliminaries Kai."

Kai bowed to his former sensei while Kakashi moved to stand off to one side of the door, "Thank you Sarutobi-sensei."

Sarutobi smiled as he continued, "Now, the reason I called you here has to do with your training for the next month."

"Has my new sealing teacher arrived?" Kai asked.

Sarutobi shook his head, "No, I have not been able to reach him, which is not surprising. He is currently on a long term mission to gather intelligence for Konoha, but he will be due to check in fairly soon so I will talk to him then. There was someone else who arrived during the exam that I think you should meet…"

As the Hokage trailed off Kai suddenly felt as though someone was behind him. Reacting on instinct, Kai activated his Miraigan and ducked in response to a tingling on the side of his head and winced as someone's foot flew over his head. Kai dove toward the wall and turned to get a look at his attacker, managing to dodge a heel drop sent toward his previous position.

Standing before him in a low crouch was a red haired woman who looked to be in her late twenties or early thirties. She was wearing a brown vest over a dark red shirt with brown pants and had a weapon pouch on her right hip along with a very large shuriken attached to a harness on her back.

As Kai rose to his feet again, the woman charged and sent a flurry of punches his way. Kai found himself frantically dodging and blocking the rapid-fire attacks sent his way by the strange woman. The woman was moving at an incredible speed and without his bloodline active, Kai would have been beaten and bruised in seconds. Whoever this woman was, she was good. Somewhere in the back of his mind, Kai was wondering why Kakashi and Sarutobi hadn't done anything to stop his attacker, but the Genin was too preoccupied to think very hard on that.

Ducking under another punch, Kai brought his hands up to catch the woman's arm and dodged around her, pinning her twisted arm against her back, effectively restraining her for the moment. The woman gasped slightly before she brought her free arm back to try and catch Kai's temple with her elbow, but Kai released her before the strike landed and jumped back a few feet before sinking into a defensive crouch and fixed his gaze upon the still unidentified woman.

"That's enough," the woman said as she turned to smile at Kai, catching him off guard, "he is definitely better than I remember."

"I'm glad to hear that," Sarutobi chuckled before turning to look at Kai, "you can relax Kai, she was just testing you."

"And I would say you passed with flying colors," the woman said, smiling even wider now, "your mother would have been proud."

Kai froze. This person knew his mother? How could that be? Kai came out of his thoughts in time to see the woman looking at him in confusion, "You really don't remember me, do you Kai?"

Kai shook his head dumbly and the woman looked down, biting her lower lip, "So Ushina was right…" she trailed off.

"What do you mean?" Kakashi asked, just as confused as Kai was, "who is Ushina and who are you?"

The woman shook her head sadly, "I think Kai should sit down before I start talking. This will probably be pretty hard on him"

A few moments later, Kai found himself seated in a comfy chair turned sideways in front of Sarutobi's desk with Kakashi standing protectively behind him while the woman pulled another chair over so she could face him.

The woman sighed and said, "Alright, my name is Seijitsu Yue, I was your mother's best friend." Kai felt as if the ground had dropped out from under him. Ever since he had arrived in Konoha he had been hoping for some clue to his past. When Inoichi had searched his mind and told him that there was no chance of recovering his memory, he had given it up as a lost cause. Now, here was someone who claimed to have known his mother before she died and, if her previous statements were anything to go by, knew him as well. She could be the key to everything he had been trying to find out since he woke up in that clearing.

"I imagine this is a lot for you to take in at once," Yue said, smiling sadly, "but your mother predicted this meeting, like she always did," she pulled a folded letter from an inner pocket in her vest, "This is for you."

Kai reached out with a shaking hand and took the folded paper from Yue. Slowly, Kai unfolded the letter and rested his eyes on his mother's handwriting.

Kai,

I know that you don't remember anything. I know how hard it's been for you, but you can trust Yue with anything. She is my closest friend, which is why I am going to trust her to give you this letter. I don't think she'll believe me when I tell her what's going to happen to you, but that doesn't matter at this point.

I am writing this letter two weeks before the man known as Zanbifushi Hito will arrive to kill me so he can take you away. There are more hard times ahead of you even now, but I know you will be able to face them head on.

It would probably be a good idea for me to explain the Miraigan to you, since you don't know anything about it now. Our bloodline was used by our clan for dozens of generations to aid 

in the Wareta Clan's chosen business: assassinations. Our clan is legendary for it's fighters on the open field, but it's less known, yet greater reputation lies in its assassins and snipers.

In the field, a Wareta assassin could use the Miraigan to help predict his target's movements, much like you have done in battle, but since the targets hardly ever knew they were there, the assassin's arrow would fly true and the target would fall. As you have discovered, the second level is more useful for close encounters. It allows us to feel the future and where the attacks will come from, but it is the third level that gives us our true power.

The third level of the Miraigan comes in two forms. The first form, the one I have, is called the _Fajoukei _Miraigan. It allows me to take the normally random dream prophesies that the Miraigan grants us and guide them, even allowing me to view places and events I will not be at personally, which is how I know of your life after my death.

The second form is more useful in battle. It is called the _Oonami_ Miraigan, which gives the user the ability to move at a very rapid pace, almost as if they are freezing time. This is a powerful technique, but it comes at a cost in the form of the large amount of chakra that it takes, so it should only be used as a last resort. That is, if you even get that form. Unfortunately, there is a limit even to my power, and there is no real way to tell which form you will get. The future is always changing, and even the _Fajoukei_ Miraigan is not immune to that limitation.

I have left something for you in a blood sealed scroll at home along with another letter. Once you have enough of a break in your duties in Konoha, I suggest you ask Yue to take you there so you can retrieve them.

I know you will become a powerful Shinobi Kai. Remember, I will always be watching over you.

I Love you,

Wareta Ushina

P.S. That Ino girl is cute! You two should definitely get together!

Kai's eyes clouded as the tears began falling; he was too upset to let the last sentence embarrass him. "If you don't mind," Yue said quietly, "I would like to train you until the Chunin exams. I think it is what your mother would have wanted, and I know enough about the Miraigan to get you on the right track to mastering the second level."

Kai nodded dumbly and Sarutobi spoke up, "Very well, it's settled then. Kakashi, if you would please escort Kai to his apartment, I have to discuss Kai's training with Yue, and I don't think he is in any condition to get there himself at the moment."

"Hai Hokage-sama," Kakashi said before bowing and placing a guiding hand onto Kai's shoulder before steering him out of the office. Kai never let go of his mother's letter.

--

AN: This was another filler chapter plus a little extra to whet your appetites for the next chapter. The biggest revelation of Kai's past, not to mention the biggest hint as to the main pairing thus far for those of you who still hadn't figured it out yet (you know who you are). I hope it was as fun to read as it was to write.

Jutsu List…sort of:

_Fajoukei _Miraigan_ -_ Far Sight Future Eye

_Oonami _Miraigan_ –_ Surge Future Eye

(I know the English names don't make a lot of sense, but I like the way the Japanese names sound and I am too lazy (and picky) to find another name.)

Please Review


	19. Chapter 19

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Chapter 19

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Disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto.

AN: This chapter should be about Kai's training with Yue. I may get to the finals, but probably not any of the matches, that stuff is all for Chapter 20.

--

Kai woke to the sound of someone knocking on his door. Groaning, Kai glanced at his bedside clock to see that it was seven in the morning, which only made him groan more. Untangling himself from his sheets, Kai stumbled from his bed and over to the door. He paused for a moment and waited until the person outside stopped tapping before he slowly pulled it open.

"It's about time sleepy head!" Yue said cheerfully as soon as Kai came into view, "The sun has been up for an hour already! Come on, we're wasting daylight!"

"Huh?" Kai mumbled stupidly.

Yue just looked at him for a second before she smiled, "Alright I guess I can give you a break today, but only because your Ushina's son."

Suddenly, the events of the previous night came back to Kai in a rush. He shook slightly before fighting down an emotional outbreak and bowing to Yue, "Of course Yue-sensei, thank you. Please come in. Make yourself at home while I get ready."

Yue's face reddened slightly before she stepped in and shook her head, "Don't call me sensei. You never had to before, so you don't have to now."

Kai was once again flung into the realm of stupidity, "Huh?"

Yue slapped herself on the forehead, "Sorry, I keep forgetting about the memory thing. Before everything happened, I was your Taijutsu instructor while your mother was too busy with her duties on the town ninja squad. We ended up taking shifts teaching you everything we could since you wanted to be a ninja, or at least know how to fight, but couldn't use any chakra."

Kai nodded in understanding, even though he was still half asleep, and turned to head into his bathroom, "Just make yourself at home, I'll be right out."

"Take your time Kai," Yue called to him while making her way into his kitchen, "we have a lot to do before the fun really begins."

--

By the time Kai had showered and dressed in a fresh outfit, Yue had managed to track down the ingredients to put together half a dozen rice balls. When Kai entered the room, Yue immediately pulled him to a chair and plopped the plate down in front of him, "Eat, I've already had my breakfast, and you're going to need all the energy you can get for today's training."

"Not wasting any time are you Yue?" Kai asked before taking a bite out of one of the rice balls while Yue watched anxiously. "These are great!" Kai exclaimed as soon as he swallowed before taking another bite.

Yue laughed, "Well, at least your taste in food hasn't changed. Back home, there were only two things you could ever be bribed with: chicken of just about any kind, or my home made rice balls."

"I don't doubt it," Kai laughed before taking another bite and stopping to savor the flavor.

"Now Kai," Yue said, growing serious, "we really do need to talk about your training."

Kai swallowed his last bite and began eyeing the remaining rice balls before him, "Alright, what do we need to do?"

"Well," Yue started, staring into the distance above Kai's head as she thought back, "Before Hito showed up, I had you up to ten pounds on each limb and twenty on your back, so I guess we could start there and see how you do."

Kai raised an eyebrow, "Huh?" He seemed to be saying that a lot this morning.

Yue smacked her forehead again, "Sorry, I guess you don't have your training weights, do you?"

Kai shook his head, "When Kakashi found me all I had were the clothes on my back."

Yue sighed, "Well then, first stop will have to be to get you a new set of chakra weights. Then we can head for one of the training grounds and see what you can do."

Kai nodded and grabbed another rice ball before he bit into it. Yue just laughed at him, "Hey, just because I've already eaten doesn't mean that I don't want a rice ball or two."

They spent the next several minutes finishing the meal Yue had prepared in silence.

--

"So," Yue asked as she walked down the street with Kai, "where can we go to get some training gear?" The two had just arrived in Konoha's market district where Yue were hoping to find a store where they could get Kai's new training weights.

"I don't have any idea," Kai admitted sheepishly, "When Kakashi-sensei first took me around to get my stuff I was a little too overwhelmed to remember where we went."

Yue stopped walking and thought for a moment, "Well, I suppose we could just ask someone."

With that, Yue turned toward the nearest person walking down the street and ran up to them, "Excuse me," she called, catching the man's attention, "could you direct me to a store where I can find some training equipment for my student over there?"

She pointed to Kai and the man's friendly face immediately turned sour, "Lady, It'll be a cold day in hell before I help that demon lover. You'd better do yourself a favor and get away from him before he gets you into trouble." The man's face then took on a lecherous grin as his gaze traveled south and his hands started twitching, "If you want, I could help you escape him…"

The man never finished his offer. Before he could blink, the unfortunate civilian found himself driven face first into the dirt road beneath their feet. "That," Yue panted, her face red with anger, "is for being a pervert and insulting my student…and being a pervert!"

Kai was frozen for a second until Yue stalked over and grabbed his collar, dragging him further down the street until the man was no longer in sight. After a few more seconds, Yue released Kai's collar, causing the Genin to fall into the dust, and turned back to him, "Sorry, I just really, really hate perverts." Kai nodded dumbly as he rose from the street, dusting himself off. He could see why Yue had trouble with guys like that. While she wasn't the biggest Kai had seen around the village, she was definitely well endowed and the rest of her wasn't bad to look at either.

Yue sighed, misinterpreting Kai's look, "Why must all men be pigs?" Kai glanced back over just in time to see Yue's fist descending upon his head, reintroducing him to the dirt. "Let's go," she said, "you aren't getting out of training for something like this."

Kai groaned as he struggled to his feet; he would have to be careful around Yue. Perverted intentions or not, she seemed inclined to take any look that seemed to be in the wrong direction as an offense. And as Kai now knew, pissing her off was not a good idea. Sighing, the Genin hurried after his newest sensei, this was going to be a long month, but at least she hadn't asked what the villager had meant when he called Kai a demon lover.

--

"Come on Kai, keep it goin'!"

Kai groaned as he tried to pick up his pace, dragging his ankles as if they were lead weights as he continued his laps around Training Ground 7. Of course, that could have had something to do with the chakra weights that were wrapped around his wrists and ankles, along 

with the larger one that he was wearing strapped to the inside of a new vest Yue had bought for him.

All in all, the weights were practically indistinguishable from the rest of his outfit. The dark colored vest seemed as if it was made to go with his black and purple jumpsuit and the smaller weights were easily hidden by his wristbands and boots. By themselves, they didn't look like much, but that was because they were special, and very expensive, weights. Unfortunately, the extra weight Kai was now carrying was too great to be offset by the lack of weight in his wallet.

"If you don't hurry it up I'm going to increase the weight again!" Yue warned, causing Kai to redouble his efforts once more.

When they had first begun training several hours before, Kai had thought he would have been at least at his former level, if not above it. But all those notions changed when Yue activated the chakra weights and adjusted them to the weight he had once been able to carry easily. It seemed that even though he had been training hard, his lack of focus on any kind of extreme Taijutsu workouts had caused his muscles to lose a lot of their original, albeit unknown, strength.

"I really am disappointed in you Kai," Yue scolded lightly from across the clearing, "you used to be so good at this, what happened?"

Kai felt his anger growing, but fought to keep it from coming out through his voice, "I lost my memory and had a whole new set of abilities thrust upon me when my chakra system opened up."

"The old you wouldn't have let that stop him," Yue shouted as Kai rounded a corner and began heading toward her, "the old you was stronger than half of our village's ninja squad!"

Kai felt his temper rising, he was quickly running out of patience, and Yue probably knew it, "I'm not the same as I used to be."

"I'll say," Yue continued as Kai came within a few yards of her, "the old you never complained this much either."

Kai felt something snap inside him. The Genin's head snapped up and he glared at Yue who merely smiled. That is, she smiled until Kai charged her at his full speed, weights and all. Yue's smile turned into a frown as she took a defensive position just in time to catch an enraged punch from her new/old student.

Shifting her weight, Yue threw Kai over her shoulder so that he landed on his back several feet away. Growling, Kai sprung back to his feet and charged Yue again. This time, Yue sidestepped Kai's wild punch and grabbed his arm before twisting it around behind his back much like he had tried to do to her in the Hokage's office.

Yue leaned up so she was next to Kai's ear, "You see, you can move without chakra, you just needed enough incentive."

Kai froze for a moment before he relaxed and began grumbling as Yue released him, letting him stumble away before his rage fueled energy ran out and he fell to his knees. "I'm sorry I had to do that to you Kai," Yue explained with a hint of true sadness in her voice, "but a lot of it was true. You've slacked off in the months since we last trained together. Now I know that it really isn't your fault, but you have to realize that I won't ask you to do anything I'm not sure you can do."

Kai dropped back into a sitting position and half turned to face his sensei, "It might help if I knew why we're doing this. I know it's good to have strong Taijutsu, but focusing on one area over all others is a little much don't you think?"

Yue sighed and formed a half-sign, reducing the weight Kai was carrying enough for him to be able to move easily, "Come on Kai, we need to have a little talk."

Tilting his head in confusion, Kai rose from the ground and followed Yue to the edge of the trees on one end of the clearing before sitting next to her in the shade, "What's up?"

"Kai," Yue hesitated, "your mother told me a lot about what I was going to have to deal with. I didn't believe much of it at first. She played games like that a lot of the time, predicting the future and stuff like that. She had never been as serious before, but I still thought it was just a game. Then, when she was killed and you went missing, I knew she hadn't been joking around. One of the things she told me has to do with your special condition when it comes to your chakra."

Yue paused again, it seemed as though she couldn't manage to say what she wanted to. Finally, Kai broke the silence, "What is it Yue? What did Mom say?"

Yue swallowed before her face firmed up, "She told me that because of the way your chakra was awakened, it won't behave like everyone else's. Your chakra system won't continue to grow like a normal Shinobi's would. Because of the explosive release of your chakra, your pathways have been damaged. Basically your chakra coils are too heavily scarred to grow properly. You will never be able to have much more chakra than you do right now."

Kai stiffened. If there had ever been a bigger obstacle than his lack of chakra control, this was it. How could he become a skilled Shinobi without a regular chakra supply?

"Don't give up hope though," Yue said softly, bringing Kai back from the brink of despair, "this is why I have been working you so hard. You have a slightly above average chakra level now. I would put you at mid to high Chunin level, but that is only because your maximum lifetime potential was unleashed from the beginning. A regular Shinobi can increase their maximum potential through training, but because of your condition, you can't. Your chakra coils won't grow because of the scarring. So you are just going to have to work harder to improve your other skills to make up for this limitation."

Kai fought down sobs as he turned toward Yue again, "What do you mean?"

"Training Kai," Yue said, leaning forward to emphasize her point, "physical training to increase your Taijutsu skills and chakra control training to help make what chakra you have last longer. That is why I'm being so hard on you. The second level of the Miraigan allows you to feel your opponent's attacks before they hit you, but that ability means nothing if you can't dodge their attacks. You can use your chakra to speed up your reflexes, but that will only work for so long before you run out of power. The only other option is to work hard and increase your physical abilities. You must become fast enough and strong enough to dodge without having to rely on chakra powered muscles. That is the only way to fulfill your dream!"

Understanding dawned in Kai's eyes as Yue finished her speech, "I see…"

"Are you sure," Yue asked, mischief dancing in her eyes as she stood up again and offered her hand to Kai, "because I won't take any more complaining from here on out."

Kai's eyes shone with new determination as he took his sensei's hand and was pulled to his feet, "Let's do this!"

"Alright Kai," Yue said as the Genin made his way back to the center of the clearing, "the plan is for you to run with those weights until you drop, then we'll eat lunch before practicing chakra control until nightfall. Once we get you fed again, I'll use some medical Jutsu to speed up your recovery so your muscles can rebuild themselves in time to do it all over again tomorrow. Hopefully, by the time the Finals get here, you'll be back at your former level, and if you get there quick enough, I may have time teach you a few of your mother's signature Jutsu. How's that sound?"

Kai turned around and sweatdropped when he saw Yue's overly enthusiastic face as she described what sounded to the Genin like a month of torture, but he still managed to smile weakly, "Sounds like fun…"

Yue smiled mischievously, "Good, because we're starting right now!" Quickly, she formed a chain of hand signs and Kai felt the weights he was wearing suddenly increase their pull on him, sending him to his knees once again.

"Oh come on!" Kai shouted as he struggled to his feet once more.

"No complaining Kai!" Yue shouted as she formed another seal and Kai felt the weights grow even heavier, "ten laps with ten extra pounds. Get going!"

Kai groaned as he struggled once more to his feet, but didn't say anything. He knew now that he would just have to grin and bear it. There was no other way to achieve his dreams.

--

-Timeskip-

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The sun rose on a calm, clear morning in Konoha. Everything was peaceful as usual, that is if you were to overlook the large crowd that was slowly making its way into the arena that was going to hold the Chunin Exam Finals later that day. Each year, the Chunin Exams were held in one of the five Great Ninja villages, and this year, the citizens of Konoha were lucky enough to have it within easy walking distance instead of halfway across the continent.

The Chunin Exams had become a kind of festival for the citizens of Konoha, and it was obvious to anyone traveling through the town that day. There was no one there. Every shop had been closed, every restaurant had its door barred and its window shutters latched tight, and on each and every door was a sign reading, "Closed for the Chunin Exams."

If you weren't there to see the finals, you were either a loser, or you were late. For Wareta Kai and Seijitsu Yue, they were just late. "I told you we should have left earlier!" Kai shouted as the two ninja sprung from rooftop to rooftop, trying to get to the stadium as quickly as possible. The sensei and student had spent the last few weeks training outside of Konoha. Yue had said it was to get away from the perverted villagers that she was growing tired or reeducating and to give Kai some more camping experience since he had forgotten everything from his earlier childhood and training, but in reality, she just wanted to hold on to her last few weeks with him before the Exams. She knew that if, no, _when_ he became a Chunin, he would have no time to spend with her, no matter what their relationship was, and he was the only link she had to her lost friend Ushina. You might say it was selfish of her, but she couldn't help herself.

If she had told him her reasons, Kai wouldn't have blamed her. Yue had become like the mother he didn't remember over the course of the last month. She had been there through each of his successes and helped him through his failures, and most important of all, when the emotional stress had finally gotten to Kai and he broke down, Yue was there to comfort him. They had spent many nights around their campfire talking about the past, or at least Yue talked while Kai listened, trying to re-learn his entire life from the first time Yue met his mother to the last time they were together.

As it turned out, Yue had never known Kai's father. The man that Hito had burned to death outside of Kai's house had basically been Ushina's stalker. Yue didn't know exactly why he had been there, but she guessed that it was probably because he was asking her to marry him…again. Kai had found that funny, disturbing, and slightly depressing all at the same time.

Now that the day of the finals had arrived, Kai knew that those happy times were coming to an end, but he still had an ace up his sleeve. Yue would be pleasantly surprised when he asked her to take him back to their home village to get the gifts his mother left for him, and he planned to whether he made Chunin or not.

"Well, we wouldn't have been late if you hadn't fallen out of that tree outside the village," Yue shot back, turning away to hide her smile.

"Hey," Kai shouted, "I wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't doubled my weights when I landed on the branch." Their conversation continued as they approached the arena. Kai had finally reached a level close to what he had been capable of before the Hito incident a few weeks into their month of work, but Yue decided that he should keep working at it. By the time she announced that they were going to be heading back to Konoha, Kai was up to 11 pounds on each limb and 22 on his vest. It may not sound like too much of an increase to someone who hasn't experienced it, but he was carrying 66 extra pounds, and Yue was proud of him. As a reward, Yue had taught Kai the Jutsu to control the weight of his weights, but that didn't mean she couldn't adjust them herself every now and then just to exercise her sensei's right to torment her student.

"Come on Kai," Yue said with a smile, "let's get in there before you're too late to sign in." Kai nodded as they reached the outside wall and sprung onto it, clinging with their chakra, and ran up to the top where they stood next to each other, watching the crowd gather while the Genin grouped together in the center of the arena.

"I'll see you after your match Kai," Yue said as she wrapped him in a hug before stepping back to hold him at arms length, "good luck. Beat that Hyuga kid into the ground."

"He won't know what hit him," Kai smiled before Yue disappeared in what looked like a small tornado. Kai would have to get her to teach him how to do that. Sighing, he turned back toward the arena. It was time to make his grand entrance.

Gathering his chakra to his feet again, Kai stepped over to the inside edge of the wall and lined himself up with a support column that ran all the way down to the arena floor. Taking a deep breath, Kai casually stepped over the edge so that he stuck to the support column before starting to sprint straight down, letting gravity build most of his momentum, and began searching for his target.

Then, just as he came within twenty feet of the ground, Kai spotted the orange clad figure he had been looking for and jumped, springing off the support column and transferring most of his downward momentum away from the wall.

--

Naruto had been waiting for this day for way too long. His training with the perverted Sannin Jiraiya had gone well, very well in fact. He wasn't going to get too confident though. He knew that he would need every trick he had to beat Shikamaru.

"Sakura-chan," Naruto said as he walked up behind his pink haired teammate, "why are you down here? Shouldn't you be up in the stands with Ino and the rest?"

Sakura huffed and turned around, "I'm looking for Sasuke, have you seen him?"

Naruto frowned inwardly, she still liked Sasuke more than him, "No Sakura-chan, I haven't."

"Well if you do…" Sakura started, but she never finished her thought. Suddenly, the Kunoichi pointed over her teammate's shoulder and screamed, "Naruto, heads up!"

--

As Kai floated through the air he saw Sakura catch sight of him just in time to warn Naruto before Kai released a burst of concentrated chakra from his feet, adjusting his course enough to allow him to land right in front of a very surprised Naruto, "Hey Oni-san, how's it going?"

--

AN: There it is, Chapter 19! I really enjoyed writing this chapter. I never thought I would say that about a filler chapter...weird huh?

Jutsu List:

No Jutsu this time… Next chapter though, that's a different story. Behold my mighty power of foreshadowing. Next chapter, I will unveil my single favorite Jutsu that I have created for the purpose of this fanfic. The only real reason it is my favorite though is because it was the first one I thought up…but still!

Please Review!


	20. Chapter 20

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Chapter 20

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Disclaimer: Naruto is not mine!

AN: Chunin Exam Finals! YAY! This part of Kai's story is probably coming to an end soon, mostly because of what I talked about on my profile (If you're confused, go read the damn profile!). I might have another two or three chapters after this one, but I'm not entirely sure. Oh well, on to Chapter 20!

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"Kai?" Naruto asked, tilting his head sideways.

"Come on Naruto," Kai laughed, stepping back, "the only thing different about me is the vest. Stop goofing off."

"KAI!" Naruto suddenly shouted jumping forward and wrapping Kai in a quick hug, "where've you been?"

"Training with a new sensei," Kai replied quietly, acutely aware of everyone's eyes on him, "what about you?"

Naruto's eyes lit up, "You're never going to guess who my sensei was!"

Kai smiled, "Kakashi?"

Naruto scowled, "No, Kakashi-sensei had to go off and train Sasuke. I was pretty much left on my own until I ran into this guy who turned out to be the Legendary Sannin Jiraiya!"

Kai felt his jaw drop, "No way! You're being taught by Jiraiya the Toad Sannin?"

Naruto nodded happily, "Yeah, and with what he taught me, I'm going to beat Shikamaru so I can move on to kick your butt after that!"

"Keep telling yourself that Oni-san," Kai laughed, "You might actually start to believe it."

Naruto laughed, "After the tournament, we have to go to Ichiraku's and catch up on the last month."

"Sounds like a plan," Kai nodded.

The happy reunion would have continued in the same vein if Sakura hadn't spoken up, "Hey Kai."

Kai's smile became fixed as he turned to nod to the Kunoichi, "Sakura, how are you doing?"

"Fine…" Sakura trailed off, "Well, I'm going to go look for Sasuke."

As Sakura hurried off, Naruto punched Kai lightly in the shoulder, "You don't have to be so mean to her Oni-san. Don't you think she's gone through enough for what she did? If you keep this going on for too much longer it could end up messing with out teamwork."

"I'm not trying to be hard on her Naruto," Kai said, sighing, "I'm working on it alright? I've had a lot on my plate recently."

"Excuses will get you nowhere,"

Kai turned around and saw Neji standing behind him, "What's up Neji?"

Neji scowled, "I am here to apologize to you before our match. I spoke with Hiashi-sama and he confirmed your story. I apologize for doubting you and I want you to know I will keep your secret for as long as is necessary." Neji looked like he would rather be smashing his hand with a brick.

Kai bowed slightly, "Thank you Neji, and good luck in our match." Neji merely frowned and walked away.

"Oh, that reminds me," Naruto said suddenly, "Ino kept asking about you every time she ran into me."

"Really?" Kai asked, suddenly interested.

Naruto laughed loudly, "Ha! Ero-Sannin was right! You do like her!"

Before Kai could say anything in response, there was a cloud of smoke in the middle of the arena which cleared to reveal a person in regular Jonin clothes with a senbon needle in his mouth, "Alright everyone, listen up, I am Shiranui Genma, the proctor of the Chunin Exam Finals."

"What happened to Hayate?" Kai heard Choji ask.

"Hayate…" Genma's face darkened, "…had an accident. He won't be able to serve as the final exam proctor, so I was asked to fill in." There was a light murmur of conversation, but Genma quickly spoke up again, "In a few minutes, the finals will officially begin. I want everyone except Hyuga Neji and Wareta Kai to head to the contestant's box up the stairs on the north wall. Get going."

"Good luck Oni-san," Naruto called as he turned toward the stairs.

"Take him down Kai," Choji whispered as he passed by with Shikamaru who just nodded and smiled. After a few seconds, Kai was left standing in the middle of the dirt arena with Neji and Genma nearby.

Before Kai could get too anxious, he heard Sarutobi's strangely amplified voice ring out from the Hokage's box above him, "Welcome one and all to the Chunin Exam Finals!" The crowd began cheering immediately but fell quiet again when the Hokage raised his hands, "We have an exceptional group of hopeful Genin this year, and I know that they will all fight to the best of their ability. Now, without any further ado, let us begin! Genma, if you please."

The proctor bowed to the elderly Hokage and turned back to Neji and Kai, who had moved so they were standing on opposite sides of the arena, "The rules for this match are just like they were in the preliminaries. You fight until one of you gives up, or is unable to fight either due to injury or death. I can call a stop to the fight at any time and you are to obey my commands at all times. Is that understood?" When both Genin nodded, Genma jumped back, "Then begin!"

Neither one of them moved. Kai and Neji simply stood there, staring at each other for several moments before Neji spoke up, "I hope your training went well Kai, because your going to need everything you have to stand up to me."

Kai smiled, "Talk is cheap Neji. Why don't we just find out the old fashioned way?" Neji's eyes narrowed and he settled into a sideways stance with one hand behind him and the other in front. Kai crouched slightly and shifted sideways with one arm extended in front of him and the other bent double behind him. The two combatants stood there for several more minutes, staring each other down until the crowd began to grow restless.

"Come on!"

"We came here to see a fight!"

"Do something already!"

Kai and Neji were deaf to the pleas of the crowd. They merely stood there, staring at each other, waiting for the other to be the first to make a move as crowd began searching for things to throw. After a few more seconds, Genma decided to speak up, "Uh…you two really need to get going."

Neji scowled, "Very well, since he seems to be too afraid to make the first move…" Neji suddenly shifted his stance and charged forward, holding himself low to the ground with his arms trailing off to each side.

Once Neji got into striking range, he swung his right hand forward with two fingers extended and attempted to strike Kai's left shoulder, but was slightly surprised to see the Genin push his arm off to the side before spinning and landing an elbow on the back of Neji's head. 

The older Genin stumbled for a second from the light blow and turned back toward Kai with rage in his eyes.

"I was hoping you would take me seriously from the beginning Neji," Kai said as he resumed his defensive stance, "you shouldn't underestimate me."

Neji smiled, this was going to be a good fight, "I shall be careful not to make that mistake again." He brought his hands up in front of him and formed a seal as he called out, "_Byakugan!_" Instantly, veins began popping up around his eyes, giving him a fairly creepy look, and what little color there had been faded entirely from sight.

"About time," Kai said as he brought his hands together in a tiger seal and focused his chakra, "_Miraigan!_" The whites of Kai's eyes shifted to black and his pupil turned to a white three-pointed star with two small dots orbiting it as the star spun.

"So," Neji said as his eyes narrowed, "that is the Miraigan…Let's see how our bloodlines match up!"

As Neji charged once more, Kai couldn't help but hope that no one had heard his opponent's last statement. He wasn't left with much time to worry however as Neji was upon him quickly and Kai was forced to focus all his attention to reacting to the warnings his bloodline gave him to dodge Neji's Jyuuken attacks.

For several minutes the two Genin were locked in a one-sided battle. Neji was completely on the offensive, trying to land a successful hit on one of Kai's tenketsu points, while Kai was doing everything he could to dodge each attack or else move enough that Neji's strike missed the tenketsu.

Finally, Neji managed to land a hit, slightly blocking the tenketsu point in Kai's right shoulder. Grinning in triumph, Neji jumped back, leaving Kai panting slightly as he tried to recover from Neji's furious onslaught.

"You should just give up now," Neji said smugly, "I am destined to be the winner of this match and you cannot go against fate." Kai rolled his eyes as he formed a seal in front of him, which only made Neji laugh, "You cannot use any chakra in your right arm, the tenketsu has been blocked by my Jyuuken strike." But Kai didn't stop. Neji watched as he continued focusing, trying to force chakra into his crippled arm.

Suddenly, as Neji watched in shock, there was a flare of visible chakra from Kai's shoulder as the tenketsu point was unsealed. "H…How?" Neji stammered, "How did you do that? You shouldn't have had nearly enough chakra to force it open!"

"Your right Neji," Kai said, still panting, as he took his fighting stance once more, "I don't have enough chakra to force it open, but I have enough control to use what chakra I do have to hammer away at one point, and a smaller amount of force, applied over a focused area, can be just as effective as a larger force used to hit a large area."

Neji's eyes widened in understanding, "But it takes you a while to do so. Well then, I guess I let my arrogance get the better of me again and we are once again on an even playing field."

Kai nodded and formed a cross seal in front of himself, "And I think it's my turn to go on the offensive. _Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!_" Instantly, Kai was covered in a cloud of smoke that was blown away shortly afterward to reveal seven Kais standing together with five of them surrounding the other two who were standing in single file in front of Neji. "Now Neji," all the Kais said together, "let's see how you deal with these odds."

Neji smirked as he sunk back into his Jyuuken stance. With his Byakugan, he already knew that the real Kai was the closer of the two in the center, now all he had to do was get through the shadow clones to get to him. Two of the clones suddenly charged Neji as they shouted out, "I learned this trick from a few friends of mine!" As the clones drew closer, one of them slid to the ground in a crouch while the other one used his as a springboard to leap into the air.

--

"Hey Ino," Sakura said excitedly, "Kai's using out move!"

Ino nodded with a huge smile on her face, "I hope it works, he is going to need everything he has to beat Neji."

--

While Neji's attention was focused on the clone in the air, the other one resumed his charge and planted his elbow in Neji's stomach, only to jump back in pain as his elbow smacked into the log that Neji had replaced himself with. Then, not realizing what had happened, the airborne clone brought his heel down on the only target he saw without realizing that it was the other shadow clone which was instantly destroyed. As the crowd roared with laughter at the clone's confusion, Neji appeared out of the smoke left by the first clone and destroyed the second. "Two down," Neji smirked as he began his charge toward the rest of the clones who were now standing protectively around the real Kai in the center.

Grinning in satisfaction, Neji struck the first clone in the chest before pushing off of him as he disappeared only to land another strike onto another clone. Kai watched, very surprised at the agility of the Hyuga as his clones were all knocked away from him, one by one, leaving only the real Kai to stand before his opponent.

"And now Kai," Neji said with a smirk as he sank into his stance once more, "You are within the range of my divination!" Neji moved like lightning as he stepped in to deliver a pair of blows to his stunned opponent, "Two palms!" Spinning around, Neji launched another series of attacks to Kai's side, "Four palms!" Neji once again brought himself around Kai and continued his onslaught, changing his position each time he called out a part of his attack, "Eight palms! 

Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!" Finally, Neji came back around to Kai's front and charged him arms with chakra to keep up his immense speed as he hit Kai with a series of rapid-fire blows, "**__****Hakke Rokujuyon Sho**!"

Kai stumbled backward as he stared at Neji. "You may as well give up," Neji said calmly, "if you even try to focus any chakra to re-open your tenketsu this time, I will simply knock you out. Although I doubt you have enough chakra to re-open all of your tenketsu at once." Neji smirked as he glared toward his opponent, but his smile was cut short when he was hit with a powerful kick that sent him flying half-way across the arena.

Neji managed to re-orient himself and planted a hand on the ground before pushing off to flip over and land on his feet with his back toward Kai. Turning around quickly, Neji looked over to see Kai still standing where he had left him, but with a clone next to him. "Impossible," Neji shouted in outrage, "I hit all of your clones with enough force to destroy them! How is it that this one survived?"

"Because I am not a shadow clone," the new Kai said as he moved closer to the Kai with his tenketsu points closed off.

"What!" Neji asked, still outraged that he had been caught off guard, "Then what are you? What's going on?"

Smiling, the new Kai extended a hand over to the sealed Kai, who struggled to reach out his own arm. When the two made contact they were both enveloped in a flash of white light before merging together. When the white light cleared, there was only one Kai standing there. As Neji watched wide-eyed, the new Kai's tenketsu points surged back to life as his chakra system opened once more.

"You see Neji, you weren't the only one planning for this fight," Kai shouted as he stood across the arena from his shocked opponent. Neji had never seen anything like this Jutsu. Both of the Kais from before were real. They both had had fully functional chakra systems just like a regular person.

"I learned a lot in the last month, mostly about my past, but I did pick up a few new tricks along the way," as he spoke, Kai clasped his hands together in front of him with his pinky finger, pointer finger and thumbs extended, "I would like to introduce you and all of Konohagakure to my mother's signature technique: _Karada Bunshin no Jutsu_!" As Kai shouted the name of his technique, his chakra flared up and the white light enveloped him again. As Neji looked on through his Byakugan, Kai's chakra system split in two, evenly distributing his chakra between the two Kais that were now forming once again.

As the light cleared, the two Kai's straightened up and spoke at the same time, "This Jutsu splits my chakra evenly between two bodies, essentially making two copies of me. When you sealed the tenketsu points of one of the clones, I just had the two re-merge, so my tenketsu were only half closed and I could open them again."

"But…" Neji stammered, still shocked, "When did you…"

"Creating shadow clones makes a lot of smoke Neji," the Kais smiled, "As it turns out, it's just enough smoke to cover the light of creating a _Karada Bunshin_."

Neji began scowling again, "No matter, I know your trick now, and you cannot use it to catch me off guard again. You have revealed your hand, while I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."

The Kais laughed as they began walking toward Neji, "That may be so Neji, but you fail to realize something."

Neji sank into his Jyuuken stance once more, "And what might that be?"

"You are no longer facing one Shinobi with Chunin level chakra reserves, an above average level of chakra control, and a large arsenal of high level Jutsu," the Kais smirked, still talking in unison, "you are now facing two Shinobi with Genin level chakra reserves, an above average level of chakra control, a large arsenal of high level Jutsu, and flawless teamwork!" As the two Kais finished speaking, they charged toward Neji as one, drawing shuriken as they went.

Neji scowled at his opponents, this was going to be slightly harder than he had first thought. Suddenly, one of the Kais jumped into the air and flung three shuriken in Neji's direction. Not wanting to fall for an aerial diversion again, Neji sidestepped out of the projectiles current path long before they reached him and continued watching the clone still on the ground. He then noticed movement from above and watched as the shuriken change direction in midair. The airborne Kai had re-directed them with a few chakra strings.

Scowling, Neji began focusing his chakra, he didn't want to use this technique already, but Kai had forced his hand this time. Just as the shuriken, and the Kai who was still on the ground, came within striking distance, Neji shifted his stance and began spinning, releasing chakra from all his tenketsu points at once, "**__****Hakkesho Kaiten!********" A dome of chakra formed around Neji and suddenly expanded with explosive force, causing the shuriken to bounce away harmlessly and sending the still grounded Kai flying backward several yards.**

******"Impressive Neji," one clone said as he rose from the ground.**

******"Very impressive, "the other said as he landed behind Neji.**

******"But how long can you keep it up?" they both said together as they started a chain of hand signs, "****__****Katon:** _Karyu Endan!_" Both Kais brought their hands to their mouths and exhaled a stream of fire toward the Hyuga from two sides. Neji, not left with much time to plan anything else, began spinning again, once again forming a dome of chakra around him.

There was a tense moment just before the attacks met when everyone in the stadium held their breath, with the exception of the two Kais who were breathing out their attacks. Then, the streams of fire struck the spinning shield and erupted into a raging column of flame. Neji's tactic 

seemed to have the exact opposite effect of what he had been hoping for. Instead of deflecting the fire or putting it out, he merely fed the chakra-infused flame with the wind generated by his technique.

Finally, the two Kais cut off their attack and the flames died down. Once the dust settled, Neji came into sight, lying singed and out of breath in a crater created by his spinning shield.

The two Kais walked over to Neji where they clasped hands again, once more fusing into one being in a bright flash of white light. "How," Neji coughed lightly, "how can you be so strong? I was destined to win…"

Kai sighed, "Neji, what is destiny? The way I see it, destiny is only one's perspective of the future, and I can see the future!" Kai shifted his bloodline to its first level for emphasis and gasped.

"What?" Neji asked growing more serious, "What do you see?"

Kai looked around, taking a hesitant step backward. There were Nin all over the arena floor fighting each other. A few seconds later, Kai realized that they were Shinobi from Suna and Otogakure fighting against Konoha Jonin and ANBU. Glancing up, Kai saw everyone in the stands was slumped over as if they were sleeping while Gai and Kakashi fought off dozens of enemy Nin alone. Looking around once more, Kai caught sight of two cloaked figures on the rooftop. Both were wearing white cloaks, but one had red trim and the other had blue trim…The Kazekage and Sarutobi! From the way things looked, the Kazekage had a kunai to Sarutobi's neck as they watched over the melee below them.

"What do you see?" Neji demanded again, rising to his feet slowly.

Kai checked his chakra flow to determine a time scale before he deactivated his bloodline and turned to Neji, "An attack," he whispered, "Suna and Oto will attack us in about thirty minutes unless we do something."

Neji's eyes widened, "We cannot alert everyone, it will just cause panic." The crowd was beginning to boo them again as the two Genin stood there as if they were just having a pleasant conversation instead of returning to beating the crap out of each other.

Kai nodded, "Alright, I'll go tell the Hokage what I saw, you go alert your sensei and let him decide who else to tell."

Neji's face contorted comically for a second before he cleared his throat lightly, "Perhaps I should go find Kakashi instead, he would be more likely to understand the situation."

Kai looked on puzzled before nodding, accepting Neji's decision until there was more time for an explanation, "Now, what should we do about our match?"

Neji paused for a second, "Kai, obviously our match will be inconclusive due to the circumstances and we will have to fight again another time; however, you had the advantage, so…" Neji turned to Genma who still stood across the arena and lifted his hand, "Proctor, I forfeit." The match ended in total confusion.

--

AN: A bit of a cliffhanger, but you can probably guess what is going to happen next anyway.

Jutsu List:

_Kage Bunshin no Jutsu:_ Shadow Clone Technique

**__****Hakke Rokujuyon Sho:******** Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms**

_Karada Bunshin no Jutsu_: Body Clone Technique (Yay! My favorite original Jutsu!)

I should probably elaborate on how this technique works. As I said in the story, it splits Kai's chakra evenly between the two clones, but that is not all it does. Any damage done to Kai is split evenly between the clones as well and any damage to the clones is transferred to Kai when they combine again. If Kai had a large bruise on his arm, the clones would each have one in the same place, but only half the size. Similarly, if one clone had a cut on his left arm, and the other had one on his right arm, when they combined again, Kai would have one on each arm. I have a lot of ideas on how this can be used to Kai's advantage, and his disadvantage. I did everything I could to keep this technique from becoming a super powerful Jutsu without any reasonable limitations, and I think I did a pretty good job; you just have to think about it the right way.

**__****Hakkesho Kaiten:******** Eight Trigram Palms Heavenly Spin**

**__****Katon:** _Karyū Endan:_ Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Missile

AN: This part of Kai's story is coming to an end. I can see two, maybe three more chapters before I end it. Review please


	21. Chapter 21

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Chapter 21

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Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto because if I did, after Neji got beaten by Naruto in the anime, a pineapple with "fate" written on it would have fallen out of his ass.

AN: More Chunin Exam goodness, for a little while anyway…

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Kai charged up the stairs to the Hokage box. He didn't have much time to warn Sarutobi, and in a situation like this, every second counted. Just as he reached the top of the stairs, a cloud of smoke cut him off as an ANBU with a bird mask appeared in front of him, "Stop right there."

Kai skidded to a halt on the landing in front of the ANBU and began thinking fast; he needed to get to the Hokage quickly. "What business do you have with the Kages?"

Kai could have slapped himself, he forgot the Kazekage was in the same room with the Hokage, he would have to be careful about how he presented himself and what he said. "Please sir," Kai said, trying to keep his voice even, "the Hokage is a former sensei of mine and he asked me to see him after my first match."

"Really…" the ANBU sounded doubtful, so Kai decided to take a gamble.

"You can ask him if you like," Kai said, "my name is Wareta Kai."

The Shinobi straightened in recognition and turned back to the Kage box, "I'll ask him, and by the way, nice fighting out there."

Kai waved his thanks and tried to figure out what he was going to say to Sarutobi, if he even got in that is. After a few minutes, and several muffled cheers and screams coming from the crowd as they watched Naruto and Shikamaru fight, the ANBU returned, and Kai still wasn't any closer to solving his dilemma. "The Hokage will see you right away Kai," the ANBU said as he stepped aside to let Kai pass.

The Genin nodded his thanks and stepped past the senior Nin and up the stairs to the Kage box. He immediately saw why this place was reserved for the Kages and their guards. The view was spectacular, and it was only accessible by the stairs Kai had come from or through the opening that looked over the arena floor about forty feet below.

"Kai," Sarutobi said, breaking him out of his stupor, "come on over."

Kai followed his former sensei's direction and made his way over to stand on the Hokage's right side, opposite the Kazekage who glanced in his direction for a moment before looking back out at Naruto's match. "Thank you for seeing me Sarutobi-sensei."

The elderly Hokage waved it off, "Now, what is it you wanted to see me about?"

Kai paused for a moment, "Well…After my match, I…uh…I saw something…" Kai flashed his Miraigan to show what he meant.

Understanding dawned in the Hokage's eyes but the Kazekage was confused, "What do you mean you saw something, young man. You cannot simply barge into the Kage box just because you saw something." Kai had to fight to keep his gaze even as the leader of Sunagakure and his two imposing bodyguards glared at him from across the small room. It wouldn't be good for him to let the Kazekage know that someone suspected what he was about to do.

Luckily, Sarutobi came to his former student's rescue, "You'll have to excuse him my old friend," he said, "Kai lost his memory before he came to our village and every once in a while he has a vision that relates to his past. I asked him to come to me and tell me everything he saw when he saw it so we can work at figuring out who he was. Please excuse me; this will only take a minute."

At a nod from the Kazekage, Sarutobi rose from his seat and beckoned for Kai to follow him back down the stairs and past the surprised ANBU. Once they reached the bottom of the steps, Sarutobi turned a corner and walked into a small room before closing the door and forming a few seals to lock it and prevent anyone from listening in. "Now Kai," he said as he turned back around and took a seat at a small table in the center of the room, "this had better be really good for you to have come to me in the Kage box. The Kazekage was right about that being a huge breach in protocol."

Kai bowed slightly, "I'm very sorry Sarutobi-sensei, but you really needed to hear this." At Sarutobi's nod, Kai continued, "At the end of my match with Neji, I used the first level of my Miraigan and I saw Suna Nin and Oto Nin attacking our Jonin and ANBU while the Kazekage held you at knifepoint on the roof."

Sarutobi could not have been more surprised if a herd of elephants charged through the room, "What?" For the first time in what seemed like forever, the Hokage was at a loss for words.

Kai didn't repeat himself, "I told Neji about it and that's why he quit the match. He said I had the advantage at that time, and that we would have to finish it later because something needed to be done as soon as possible. He should be telling the same thing to Kakashi-sensei right now to see what he thinks we should do."

Sarutobi looked around the room, deep in thought, before nodding, "You did the right thing Kai. I want you to go find Kakashi and Neji and stay with them. When the attack comes, do only what you feel up to. You just had a match and we don't need you to get in over your head just because you're exhausted. If worst comes to worst, hang back and help evacuate the citizens."

"What about you sensei?" Kai asked, worried about his teacher.

Sarutobi sighed, "I will go back to the Kage box, but I will request more ANBU be brought in before I get there. I knew something was off about the Kazekage, and I guess now we know what it is…" Sarutobi trailed off.

"Sensei?" Kai asked.

Sarutobi shook himself, "Never mind Kai. You have your orders, go spread the word, but only to those you trust. The last thing we want is to cause a panic and we definitely don't want our enemies to find out what we know. If they did, they may spring the attack early and you could end up becoming a primary target. Just tell Kakashi and any other Jonin you know to do what they feel is right. I will trust their judgment."

Kai nodded solemnly as Sarutobi rose from his seat and unsealed the door, "Let's go." The two Shinobi quickly exited the room and parted ways, Kai heading for the contestants box, while the Hokage made his way back to the Kage box.

--

"Kai," Kakashi said as the Genin entered the contestant's box, "come with me. We need to meet up with Neji and Gai."

"Who's Gai?" Kai asked, puzzled as he left the small room once again to follow his sensei while the other contestants just watched.

Kakashi smiled, "You'll see."

And Kai did see. Oh yes. Kakashi and his student made their way through the labyrinthine halls of the stadium, eventually making their way to the stands where the crowd was gathered. Standing half-way down the stairs watching Naruto continue to fight against his lazy friend was a man who looked to be a larger version of Rock Lee.

As the two approached the strange man, he heard them and turned, "Ah, Kakashi, my hip rival, I see you have tracked down your youthful student," Gai moved like a blur and was suddenly kneeling in front of Kai, "Wareta Kai, for you to have beaten Neji truly shows your power. Your Flames of Youth are strong indeed!" Gai then enveloped Kai in a bone breaking hug that left the Genin struggling to breathe while watching a setting sun appear behind them with an accompanying wave crashing down over their heads.

As the seconds went by, Kai felt his consciousness slowly leaving him until Neji politely cleared his throat, "Gai-sensei, you might want to let him go now. I don't think he can breathe."

Gai pulled back suddenly and released Kai who fell to his knees and gasped for breath. "My apologies Kai," Gai said as he stepped back before looking up to regard Kakashi with an even gaze, "so, do you know what we are supposed to do?"

"Ask Kai," Kakashi said, gesturing to his student, "he is the one who spoke with the Hokage, at least I assume he did."

Kakashi gave Kai a questioning gaze, to which Kai nodded before standing once more and drawing everyone closer, "Sarutobi-sensei said that I should spread the word of the attack to those I trusted. He said that the last thing we wanted to do was to cause panic among the citizens. The only other thing he really told me was to tell any Jonin I knew to do what they felt was right. He said he trusts your judgment."

Kakashi nodded, "So, what do we know other than that the attack will happen?"

Kai thought for a moment, "When I used my Miraigan, it was set around thirty minutes ahead, and that was fifteen minutes ago, so…" Just then there was a collective gasp and a cheer from the crowd. Kai and the others turned to see a triumphant Naruto standing next to the prone form of Shikamaru.

Genma stepped up, "I declare Uzumaki Naruto the victor of the second round of the Chunin Exam Finals!" If anything, the cheering only got louder, it seemed as if the villagers of Konoha were starting to see Naruto as something more than a demon.

"Sabaku no Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke, please report to the ring!" Genma announced as Naruto bent over and pulled the lazy Genin to his feet before slapping him on the back, nearly sending him to the ground once again. As Naruto and Shikamaru made their way off the field, Gaara slowly walked toward Genma, with his bloodlust leaking out everywhere.

"Is Sasuke even here Kakashi-sensei?" Kai asked, realizing that he hadn't seen the Uchiha yet that day. He knew that Kakashi had taken him away for training though, and so he hoped that the Jonin would be able to shed some light on the situation.

"He's here," Kakashi said as he nodded toward the far side of the arena where Sasuke was just coming in to view, "he just said he didn't feel like dealing with Sakura until after his match was over, and, quite frankly, I didn't blame him. That girl could drive anyone crazy with her constant attempts to get Sasuke to date her."

"I know what you mean," Kai chuckled.

Before he could continue though, Neji spoke up, "That's it!"

"What's it, my youthful student?" Gai asked, looking back toward the Hyuga who was staring at Gaara intently.

"The attack," Neji explained, "it will happen sometime during the match between Sasuke and that Suna Nin."

Kakashi nodded, "That makes sense. Kai, didn't you tell Neji that Suna was going to aid Oto in the attack?"

Kai nodded as well, finally seeing where they were coming from, "Yeah…but when?"

Everyone paused for a moment before Gai spoke up, "Well, if I understand your bloodline properly you can just check right, so why don't you do that?"

Kai sweatdropped before nodding, that solution was so simple that he really should have thought of it himself. Focusing his chakra, Kai turned his attention once more to the arena and activated his bloodline.

"What do you see?" Neji demanded.

"Calm down Neji," Kai said defensively, "I have to modify my chakra flow so I can view different times. It'll take more than a few seconds."

Neji seemed about to say something more, but a look from Gai silenced him. As Kai's three companions watched, the stars in Kai's eyes began spinning faster and faster while the crowd around them grew more excited as the start of the third match drew closer.

Then, the crowd let out another loud cheer as Sasuke appeared from the far side of the arena before slowly making his way to the center. This was one of the matches that they had been waiting for. But their excitement wasn't caused by the thought of the two fighters meeting as much as it was by the Uchiha prodigy and rookie of the year showing what he could do.

Kai's eyes began spinning faster and faster for a moment before he cursed, "Damn! Suddenly the image changed to the Suna and Oto fighting us again. I can't find the actual time when it begins, only parts of the battle. Whoever is in charge of the invading force keeps changing their mind!"

Kakashi was looking thoughtfully out over the arena where Sasuke and Gaara were staring each other down before their match began. Then, just as Genma started the fight and stepped back, Kakashi realized what was wrong. "Kai," he said urgently, "check the next minute or so. I think the invasion may be based on what happens in Sasuke and Gaara's fight"

Kai looked toward his sensei for a moment before nodding and adjusting his chakra. "You're right Kakashi-sensei; I am at least seeing the beginning of the invasion from this view…" Kai said as he looked around before suddenly deactivating his bloodline, "But that means that we only have around a minute before it begins!"

Kakashi immediately assumed a commanding role, "Alright, Gai we don't have much time, so I want you to alert the ANBU, but only those you know personally. We don't know if there are any spies among the ANBU and I don't want to take any chances."

"Right," Gai said before taking off so quickly that Kai was unable to follow his movements.

"Neji," Kakashi continued, "I want you and Kai to get down to the contestants box and be ready to immobilize the other two Suna Genin. Try to get the others to help you if you can, but don't let your targets know that you know what is going on."

"Hai," Neji and Kai said together before they turned and ran back toward the stairs so they could return to the rest of the Konoha Genin. They only hoped they got there before the invasion began.

--

Sasuke was getting frustrated. The day had gone so well up till his match started. He had managed to avoid Sakura before the finals started, although his new black outfit may have helped there, and he even got away with staying away from the rest of the contestants until his match. He was feeling confident and felt that no matter what this Gaara guy had, there was no way he could be beaten.

All that had changed when he stepped onto the arena floor. When Genma started the match, Sasuke had immediately charged Gaara, hoping to overwhelm him with a Taijutsu barrage, but that was put to a stop by the Suna Genin's strange sand defense.

It didn't take Sasuke long to realize that he wouldn't be able to beat him that way, so he decided to try his Jutsu. That too was doomed to failure however since the stoic Genin merely used the sand once more to extinguish the fireball that Sasuke sent his way. Now, the Uchiha was getting desperate, but he still had his ace in the hole.

Smiling, Sasuke charged in for one last Taijutsu barrage before attempting to push off the strangely resistant sand barrier that formed in front of Gaara. The only problem was that the sand seemed to suddenly decide that it liked him. Sasuke soon found himself caught with the sand wrapped around his right hand and forearm as he was left to dangle in front of Gaara with his trapped arm held over his head.

"Will your death bring my life meaning?" Gaara said suddenly, catching the Uchiha off guard.

"What are you talking about?" Sasuke sneered as he continued struggling against the iron grip of the sand.

Gaara's face contorted in rage, "Mother demands your blood!" Sasuke recoiled slightly before the sand holding his hand whipped him over Gaara's hand, flinging him to the ground several yards away.

Sasuke groaned before quickly jumping to his feet and looking towards Gaara once more. As the Uchiha watched, Gaara slowly started toward him, lifting one hand in front of him as he did. Suddenly, the ground at Sasuke's feet began shifting causing the Genin to lose his balance. Quickly recovering, Sasuke sprang away just in time to avoid a large spike of sand that suddenly emerged from the ground where he had been standing before.

Growling, Sasuke continued leapt back once more, brining himself to the base of the wall before he jumped straight up and twisted in midair, brining his feet to the wall where he applied enough chakra to keep him there. Sasuke then formed a short series of seals before grasping his left wrist in his right hand. Before long, Sasuke's focused chakra became visible in the form of a crackling ball of electrical energy that rested in his hand.

"_Chidori!"_ Sasuke cried out as he began sprinting down the wall before jumping off to land on the ground and keep his momentum. As he rapidly approached his opponent, he activated his Sharingan just in time to dodge another sand spike that jutted up in his path. Another ten feet, and Sasuke was forced to use his Chidori like a blade to slash through another deadly obstacle. Finally, Sasuke reached Gaara and sprung forward, attempting to drive his electrically charged hand into Gaara's chest.

Gaara's sand defense once more proved its worth however, as it caught him just before the attack penetrated Gaara's skin. It didn't stop the electrical energy from jumping from Sasuke's fist onto the Suna Nin though. As Sasuke watched with a smirk on his face despite his position, the bolts of energy lanced out, melting Gaara's sand armor in some places, creating molten glass that burnt Gaara beneath it.

Gaara screamed in pain and the sand holding Sasuke exploded outward, sending the Konoha Genin flying away where he landed roughly on his back, knocking the wind out of him. Just then, everything went to hell.

Explosions rocked the stadium and the crowd's cheers of excitement turned to screams of fear before they were suddenly silenced as they all fell asleep at once. Lying where he had landed on his back, Sasuke watched as strange bits of what looked like crystal floated over his head, distracting himself from his consciousness.

Shaking himself violently, Sasuke fought off the Genjutsu that had settled over the crowd and struggled to his feet in time to see Kankuro grab the limp form of Gaara and throw him over his shoulder before making a mad dash for the far wall with his sister right behind him. Growling in frustration, Sasuke gave chase. He felt his anger grow as the mark on his neck pulsed under Kakashi's restrictive seal. His fight with Gaara wasn't over yet.

--

Neji and Kai arrived in the contestant's box in time to see the two Suna Genin jump out the window toward their injured brother. Before they could give chase however, they felt a Genjutsu begin to settle upon them, clouding their judgment and lulling them to sleep.

Neji shook himself before focusing his chakra, "KAI!" releasing the Genjutsu over himself and the rest of the Genin in the room.

"What was that?" Choji asked as he looked back out to the arena floor in time to see Gaara being carried away by his siblings.

"We're under attack," Kai said quickly, "Suna and Oto have teamed up to invade Konoha." There was a collective gasp as everyone began looking around frantically.

"We have to do something," Naruto said from across the room.

"But what?" Choji asked.

"We fight," Neji said, stepping further in to the room and bringing everyone's gaze to him, "I want Naruto, Shikamaru, and Shino to head up to the stands and get further orders from Kakashi and Gai-sensei. Kai, Choji and I are going to head outside the arena to help from there."

It may not have been the best of plans, but it was all they had. They were all desperate to help, with the exception of the ever-lazy Shikamaru, but none of them had any idea what they 

should do in this kind of situation. It wasn't exactly the kind of thing that was covered in Iruka's classes.

As Naruto, Shikamaru and Shino quickly made their way up to the top level, Neji turned and lead Kai and Choji outside where they were met with a very troubling sight. Before them was the city of Konoha, in all its burning glory…literally. Part of the village was on fire.

"Let's go," Neji shouted as he took off, "we need to put out those fires!"

Kai and Choji took off after the Hyuga, leaping from building to building, traveling ever closer to the fires, but it was what they saw when they reached their destination that made them freeze in their tracks.

As the three Genin watched from the rooftops, they saw the clash of two Shinobi of at least Jonin level, if not stronger. Neji and Choji couldn't tell who they were and didn't know who to help since neither of them wore a hitai-ate, but Kai was in a different situation. Fighting in the streets of Konoha were Zanbifushi Hito and Seijitsu Yue.

--

Yue had been standing on the top of the stadium walls when the first explosions rocked the building to its foundations. She immediately jumped to her feet and looked out over the city, seeing the huge columns of smoke that were coming from the far side of the village and the huge snakes that were thrashing about, destroying everything in their path.

Smiling grimly, Yue sprung away from the stadium. She may not have been a citizen of Konoha, or even an official Leaf Shinobi, but that didn't mean that she had to sit by while those snake summons destroyed the village. Besides, she couldn't let Kai's new home get destroyed so easily.

Yue traveled away from the stadium before biting the thumb of her right hand and spreading the blood around on her palm. She was going to have to pull out all the stops if she was going to be able to defeat these snakes, but Fenrir shouldn't mind too much, snakes were his favorite snack after all. Forming a few quick seals, Yue jumped into the air and slammed her hand down onto the ground, "_Kuchiyose no Jutsu!_" Immediately, a huge cloud of smoke erupted form the ground, centered around Yue, which eventually cleared to reveal the Kunoichi standing atop a giant white wolf.

"**Yue**," the boss of the wolf summons said, "**why have you summoned me?**"

"You hungry Fenrir?" Yue said before pointing ahead of her, "Because I've found a snack for you. Those snakes are destroying Kai's new home. We need to put a stop to that."

"**You have tracked down young Kai?**" the wolf asked, licking his chops as he eyed the snakes before him, "**You shall have to re-introduce us once my stomach is a little fuller.**" With that the great wolf leapt into the air, forcing Yue to cling with her chakra to keep from falling off his head, and landed deftly in the streets of Konoha, placing his paws in the streets so that he didn't crush any buildings. Then he was up again as he sprung once more toward his goal. It wasn't the smoothest way to travel, but when you were trying to get across a city as quickly as possible while riding a giant wolf, you didn't have much choice.

The snakes saw Fenrir and Yue just before the great wolf pinned one to the ground. There was a very brief struggle before Fenrir bent down and savagely ripped the snake's head off, causing it to disappear in a cloud of smoke as it was forced back to the summon plane.

"**Darn,**" Fenrir complained, "**I didn't get a taste, oh well, there's plenty more where that came from!**" The remaining two snakes looked at each other before turning and fleeing from Konoha as fast as they could slither. Fenrir began to chase after them, but in his hunger 

driven frenzy, he failed to notice Yue being knocked off his head and into an empty vendor's stand in the street below.

Groaning, Yue pulled herself out of the remains of the stand and began searching for her attacker. "Well well," someone said from behind Yue causing her to spin around to face her attacker, "what do we have here? Wait… your not a Konoha Nin." Standing in front of Yue was a man wearing a dark grey trench coat with a slightly lighter colored sash that was left open to reveal a red and black jumpsuit underneath it.

"No," Yue responded as she took a defensive stance, "I'm not. Who exactly are you?"

The man feigned shock, "You don't know who I am? Well, I would have though that Kai would have spread the word to every Shinobi who came into the village."

Yue tensed, suddenly getting an idea as to who this man was, "How do you know Kai?"

"Oh," the man said, laughing lightly, "It seems that I am not the only person who knows young Wareta Kai. Then you should know the name Zanbifushi Hito!"

"Hito!" Yue exclaimed before smirking evilly, "Oh, I have been waiting for this ever since you attacked the village while I was away."

Hito looked on for a moment before understanding dawned in his eyes and he laughed, "You are one of those pitiful Shinobi from the village I raided to capture Kai all those months ago."

"That's right," Yue sneered, "you killed many people I knew and loved that day, and I'm going to make you pay." Yue suddenly charged Hito, drawing a kunai out as she approached. Hito smirked as the woman approached and waved his hand in the air beside him opening a hole that he pulled his katana from before drawing the blade and tucking the sheath into his sash.

Yue put on one last burst of speed and slashed her kunai at the elder ninja only to intercept the black blade of Higureken. "If you leave now, I won't kill you. I am only here to find Wareta Kai, so you have no reason to interfere with me."

Yue sneered as she pushed forward, forcing Hito's blade back a few inches, "That's where you're wrong. Kai's mother was my best friend and I promised her I would take care of him. If you want to get to him, you have to go through me!" With a final shove, Yue forced Hito's sword back enough to get her foot up and kick him away from her before she once again pressed her attack.

Hito sneered as he fended off each of Yue's furious strikes with his sword. He tried to get his own blade into the fight, but Yue's strikes were too fast and too close for him to bring his longer weapon into use. Finally, Hito's rage got the better of him. Sneering, Hito shifted his grip on his sword so the next strike he blocked used Yue's momentum to cause her kunai to slide down Hito's weapon until it hit the guard. What he didn't anticipate was when the kunai struck his face, leaving a slash from his forehead down his right cheek almost to his neck.

"You bitch!" Hito raged as he pushed Yue off balance and swung his sword in a vicious arc that would have decapitated the woman if she hadn't ducked just in time.

Coming up from her crouch, Yue leapt back and smiled, "Looks like you aren't all you're cracked up to be, Hito."

Hito glared at the woman standing ten yards from him and re-sheathed his sword before he began forming hand signs as blood ran down his face, "You won't be smiling for long fool! _Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!_"

Yue remained calm in the face of the immense fireball bearing down on her while forming her own hand signs, "_Doton: Doroku Gaeshi!_" and slamming her hands into the ground, causing a wall of rock to rise in time to block the fireball.

Hito smirked, "You seem to be able to do more than just Taijutsu after all; why don't you join me? I could give you more power than have you ever dreamed of."

Yue jumped up to stand on the top of the now smoking wall of earth, "You sicken me. You actually think that I would join you after you killed people that I knew and loved? Are villains always this stupid? (AN: seriously, are they?)"

"You know if you turn down my offer I will be forced to kill you," Hito cautioned, ignoring Yue's comment.

"You can try," Yue said as she formed another chain of seals, "_Doton: Ishi Rendan!_" Yue continued focusing her chakra once the jutsu was completed, but instead of holding it in one place, he pushed it down, through her feet and into the wall below her and through that into the ground.

"What is that supposed to so?" Hito laughed, "That technique seems about as effective as…" Hito trailed off as Yue flipped backward off the wall, bringing her feet around in time to kick the top of the wall where she had been standing, launching a large chunk of rock out of the top of the wall toward her opponent.

Thinking quickly, Hito dove out of the way before getting to his feet once again and drawing Higureken. Yue's attack wasn't finished yet. Standing behind the wall, Yue delivered a series of punches and kicks, with each blow launching another huge chunk of rock out of the bottom section toward Hito until the weight became too much and the entire structure crumbled to the ground.

On Hito's end, he was dodging and blocking each stone as it flew toward him. Finally, as the last stone came toward him, he brought his blade around in an upward sweep, cleanly slicing it in half and causing it to fall to either side. "Is that all you have?" Hito taunted as he returned to a ready stance with his katana in front of him, "That jutsu of yours really is useless if that is all you can do."

Yue smirked, "I'm not done yet." Shifting her stance, Yue lifted one foot and slammed it into the ground. To Hito's surprise, one of the stones in the remains of Yue's wall suddenly jumped several feet into the air, where Yue punched it, sending it flying toward Hito just like the first barrage.

For the next few seconds, Yue followed the same pattern: stomping to send a few stones into the air and then punching or kicking them with enough chakra-powered force to send it flying toward Hito.

It didn't take long, however, before she ran out of stones that were large enough to launch and Hito continued his taunting. "Now what?" he said, snickering as he lowered his sword to his side, "Your definitely out of stones now."

Yue smirked again, "Is that so?" This time she brought her right arm around in a wide hook and released a burst of chakra before posing slightly with her torso twisted and her right arm extended around to the left.

"And what was that supposed to…" Hito was cut off when a chunk of stone broke off from the ground in front of him and struck him in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him and making him drop his sword. "H...How?" he demanded, clutching his stomach.

"My _Doton: Ishi Rendan_ lets me extend my chakra into the ground around me," Yue explained as she returned to her basic Taijutsu stance, "I can control the earth with my chakra, and that includes what you're standing on right now."

Yue charged toward the winded Hito who didn't have a chance to pick up his sword before he was forced to block Yue's furious Taijutsu barrage. Yue sent a punch toward Hito's 

head, which he blocked easily with his forearm before he attempted to counter with a kick. The only problem was that Yue had called up a rock with her punch and Hito's kick was cut short when the stone drove itself into his side, once again sending the elder ninja stumbling backward.

"I think this is the part where I give you a chance to give up before I kill you," Yue said, smiling with mock sweetness on her face.

Then, much to her surprise, Hito began laughing, "You foolish girl, you really think that after living as long as I have I wouldn't have more tricks than this? You really think you have won?" Hito straightened up and fixed his glare on Yue, "This fight is only just beginning."

Hito stretched his hand out to one side and released a pulse of chakra which put Yue back on her guard. When nothing happened Yue began to get nervous. Then, Hito smirked and pointed behind her. Yue quickly turned in time to see Hito's black katana floating in the air behind her. As soon as she turned, the blade tilted and swung toward her head, leaving just enough time for her to duck under the attack. Hito was somehow controlling his sword with his chakra.

"So, do you like Higureken?" Hito said, resuming his taunting once more as Yue was sent into an otherwise impressive series of dodges and flips to evade the deadly blade that was chasing her around the street.

Finally, Hito waved his hand once more and the katana quickly flew to his side where he grabbed it before bringing it around in front of him with the blade pointing down. "This is the key to its power," he said, gesturing to a pitch black stone imbedded in the pommel of the blade, "this stone is known as Midnight Onyx. It has the peculiar trait of being able to absorb and store a large amount of chakra, which is what makes it so valuable. This particular piece has so much of my chakra within it that it allows me to control my sword as if it were an extra limb. In addition, I can take chakra from it whenever I need to use it to destroy some insignificant fool who dares to stand up to me!"

Hito placed his left hand over the stone and began concentrating. Immediately, his hand was engulfed in a dark aura that quickly spread to the rest of his body. "You see," He said, "with this sword, my power is nearly limitless. I have enough chakra stored in this one weapon to recharge every Shinobi in this village to their full capacity three times over! You don't stand a chance against me!"

As Yue watched wide-eyed, the aura of chakra seemed to sink into Hito's skin. As soon as the glow faded, the cut on Hito's face began to heal, only leaving an ugly red scar to show it had ever existed. Yue gulped as she readied herself for the coming onslaught, this battle had just gotten harder. Why did she give him the time to absorb the chakra from his sword when he had told her he was going to do that in the first place? (AN: Seriously, why do the heroes always do that?)

Hito dashed toward Yue with his sword out to one side, forcing Yue to draw her kunai once more to defend herself from the ebony blade. Hito brought the blade in an upward slash, attempting to cut across Yue's chest, but only met the shorter blade of her kunai. Hito was not so easily deterred. Smirking, he slid his blade off the kunai and brought it around for another pass.

The two shinobi continued their dance of death for several more minutes. Yue knew that she was at a disadvantage now. When they had started their fight, they had been fairly evenly matched since both of them were at or near their maximum strength, but now she was worn out from her Jutsu and the fight thus far, while Hito had recharged himself to full strength. On top of that, her _Ishi Rendan_ Jutsu had worn off shortly after he had recharged himself. That was the big 

downside to the Jutsu; it went well with her earth element chakra, but it took a lot of chakra to perform and wore off after a few minutes no matter what she did.

By the time Hito stepped back, Yue had shallow cuts all over her body. Smirking, the swordsman sheathed his blade once more. "Let's have a little more fun now shall we?' Hito said as he started forming a chain of hand seals, "_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu!_" Hito brought his right hand up to his mouth and rested his left hand on his sword before he began launching fireballs from his mouth toward Yue.

Yue's eyes widened slightly before formed a chain of hand seals that she was forced to abandon when the fireballs got too close to her. Yue dodged to the side, avoiding one fireball, only to have to drop to her stomach to allow another one to pass over her. Yue quickly climbed to her feet before flipping backward and jumped high into the air to avoid another fiery projectile that exploded on the ground below her. Her luck ran out while she was airborne.

Before she could react, a fireball struck her on her left shoulder, exploding with enough force to destroy her clothing on her shoulder and leave severe burns on that side of her body. She fell heavily to the street below, groaning as she immediately attempted to rise from the ground only to fall back to the ground when her burns screamed protest at her attempted movement.

"You should have given up when I gave you the chance," Hito said, walking toward her slowly as he drew his blade again, "that way, you might have survived." The angry shinobi lifted his blade over his head, prepared to make the final blow to end Yue's life when a shuriken flew through the air and ricocheted off his weapon. Hito's reflexes kicked in immediately, causing him to jump back from the downed Kunoichi.

"Back off Hito," Kai announced from the roof of a nearby building, "your fight's with me!"

--

When Kai saw Yue go down, he knew he didn't have any choice. There was no way he was going to let his only connection to his past and his newest friend be killed, much less by Hito. Reaching into his weapon pouch, Kai pulled out a shuriken and activated his bloodline.

"What are you doing?" Neji asked, placing a restraining arm on Kai's shoulder "Do you even know who they are?"

"Yes," Kai said shaking Neji's hand off, "That's my sensei about to be killed by Hito. I have to stop him. I want you and Choji to take cover and play back-up if I need it, which I probably will. Just bide your time and come in when you think you can help." Neji seemed as though he was about to object again, but only nodded before he motioned for Choji to follow him back from the edge of the building.

Kai made sure the other two Genin were hidden before looking back to Hito and Yue. Kai once again took aim and flung his shuriken, which ricocheted off Hito's sword bringing his attention to Kai as he jumped away from Yue. "Back off Hito," Kai shouted as he glared down at the man, "your fight's with me!"

"So," Hito smirked as Kai jumped down to land a few yards away, "the very person I was hoping to see comes right to me. You have saved me a lot of trouble."

"You made a mistake coming here Hito," Kai said, slowly walking to his left, bringing him closer to the burnt form of Yue.

"Oh," Hito questioned, "and why is that? It seems to me that everything is going fine on our end. The Konoha Shinobi are in disarray, Orochimaru got into place by the Hokage, Gaara is most likely using his inner demon to destroy anything he can, and now you walk right into my grasp. I don't see any problems that would identify a mistake."

"You're fighting on my turf now," Kai said, "Konoha is my home, and I will defend it with everything I have!" By this time, Kai had brought himself around to stand next to Yue, who was looking up at him with pain in her eyes from the burns covering half of her body.

Hito laughed, "Somehow, I don't think that will make too much of a difference." Suddenly, the elder Shinobi charged, pulling his katana back for a strike, but Kai didn't move. Hito brought his blade right up to Kai's neck where he stopped just short of cutting into his flesh.

"You're going to have to do better than that Hito," Kai taunted before casually reaching up and pushing Hito's sword away, "I know you won't do anything to kill me, and I have the resources to keep me from reacting to every attack you launch. You cannot scare me like that."

Hito stepped back for a moment before smirking, "Very true. You have done well to discover that weakness Kai, but there is still another hole in your plan."

Kai tilted his head to one side as he took a fighting stance, "Oh, and what could that be?"

Hito's smirk grew as he reached into his cloak with his free hand, "The very same reason you showed yourself in the first place." Hito quickly drew his hand out of the cloak, revealing a handful of shuriken that he then flung in Yue's direction.

Kai moved to get in the way of the projectiles, knowing he wouldn't make it, but was cut off by a cry of, "_Baika no Jutsu__! Nikudan Sensha!_" From atop a nearby building, Choji came rolling in his Bullet-tank form just in time to block the weapons that would have ended Yue's life.

Once he stopped moving, Choji reversed his jutsu and returned to his regular form, "Kai's got friends Hito," he sneered as he took a defensive stance in front of Yue, "and we'll help him no matter what."

Taking advantage of Hito's momentary distraction, Kai drew a pair of kunai and charged toward the man. As Kai came toward him, Hito noticed the charge and moved his katana up to block the attack, but Kai was prepared for him. Using one of his kunai to engage Hito's sword, Kai brought his other around to stab at Hito's hands, forcing him to release his sword or lose a finger.

Hito exclaimed as he jumped away suddenly, throwing Kai off balance as Hito's sword fell to the ground. "You fool!" Hito shouted, "How dare you!"

Kai replaced his kunai once more and stooped down to pick up Hito's sword. "You seem to like this sword Hito," Kai said as he brought the blade into a ready stance, "Let's see how you fight against it."

Hito smirked and formed a quick seal, "You just made a mistake fool." Suddenly, the crystal on the pommel of the black blade lit up, expelling chakra in all directions. Kai screamed as the dark chakra burned through him, quickly draining his energy. Kai found that he was unable to release the blade, or move at all. It was almost as if the blade had completely paralyzed him.

"That crystal is filled with my chakra fool," Hito said, "it binds the sword to me and allows me to drain the power of anyone else who tries to use it against me."

A few seconds later, Hito lifted his hand and the sword jumped out of Kai's weakened hands and flew over to Hito once more. "And now," Hito gloated as Choji moved over to help Kai back to his feet, "You will watch as I kill that bitch and your fat friend, and then you will come with me!"

"Who're you calling fat!" Choji raged, turning to glare at Hito with flames in his eyes, "I'm not fat! I'm chubby! Chubbies rule!"

Kai weakly placed a restraining hand on Choji's shoulder, "Now is not the time to lose your cool Choji. Besides," he smirked, "We just got some more backup."

Choji's eyes widened as he glanced toward Hito and saw Neji standing behind him. "You are within the range of my divination…" Neji started as Hito spun around to face the smirking Hyuga.

Neji quickly stepped up, closing the distance between himself and Hito, "Two palms!" The Hyuuga continued his onslaught much like he had against Kai, working his way around his target with each strike, "Four palms! Eight Palms! Sixteen palms! Thirty-two palms!" Neji's continuous movement brought him back around in front of Hito where he finished his combo in a blur of movement that no one else was capable of following, "**__****Hakke Rokujuyon Sho**!"

Neji jumped over Hito, placing himself between Kai and the evil Shinobi, "Give up now, you have lost."

Hito just started laughing, "You foolish boy. It was a grand effort on your part, but, "Hito grasped the crystal on his sword again, "I'm afraid it was all for nothing." Neji watched through his Byakugan as a torrent of chakra burst from the black stone on Hito's sword and surged through his body, reopening his tenketsu one by one. "It won't be long now fool, and then you will die as well!"

Neji frowned and jumped forward again, resuming his attacks in an attempt to seal off the tenketsu points again before he could open them all. "Kai," Neji gasped as he worked around Hito, "get out of here, I can't hold him off for long!"

"No way Neji," Kai said as he helped a wincing Yue to her feet, "We're in this together."

"Besides," Choji said, "Hito will kill you if we leave you here."

"And he'll kill all of us if you don't!" Neji shouted as he sealed another point. He had initially been making a little headway, but Hito had increased the chakra flow from his crystal and would soon have all his tenketsu opened again, despite Neji's efforts.

"There is nothing you can do to stop that now foolish boy!" Hito exclaimed as he brought his left hand up suddenly and backhanded Neji across his face, sending him flying back toward Choji, who caught him and righted him again.

"Now," Hito said once his chakra system was back to normal, "you will all die!"

"**I think you should back off puny human,**"

Yue had never been so happy to hear the voice of her boss summon. "What took you so long Fenrir?" she asked through gritted teeth, "were the snakes a little too much for you to handle?"

"**I just like to enjoy my meals thank you very much,**" Fenrir responded, lifting his nose into the air, "**But enough about that, I think this human needs to make up his mind.**"

Hito glanced up at the towering form on the great white wolf standing behind the four Shinobi he had been prepared to kill a few seconds ago. He quickly decided he didn't want to try to fight something that large, at least not in Konoha anyway, "Have it your way. I'll get you sooner or later Kai. You will never be safe as long as I walk this land." With that, Hito sheathed his sword before forming a short chain of seals causing him to disappear in a column of flames.

Kai nearly collapsed when he left, "Alright, is everyone ok?"

"Would you be surprised if I said no?" Yue laughed weakly before hissing in pain as her burns protested.

"Come on Kai," Neji said, rubbing his sore cheek from where Hito had hit him, "we need to get her to the hospital. It sounds like the battle is mostly over anyway."

Choji laughed nervously, "That probably has something to do with the giant wolf standing behind us."

Fenrir laughed loudly, causing the ground to quake beneath them, "**True, but I am sure the valiant Shinobi of Konohagakure had something to do with it as well.**" The giant wolf then turned toward Kai, "**Young Kai, if you can get Yue onto my back, I can take you all to the hospital you spoke of.**"

"Of course," Kai said before falling to the ground and nearly pulling Yue with him.

"Oh no," Choji said, smiling, "You're going to let Neji and I do the carrying. Neither of you are in any shape to move too far."

Neji seemed slightly put off by having to carry someone, but quickly got over it as he swept up Yue and sprung to a nearby rooftop before jumping to Fenrir's head, "Are you coming Choji?"

Choji sweatdropped, "Yeah, yeah, I'll be there in a second." Kai laughed as Choji came over and let Kai rest his weight on his shoulders before they followed Neji's path. It wasn't long before Fenrir delivered them to Konoha's very busy hospital where they made their way back to ground level.

"**Take care of yourself Kai,**" Fenrir said, "**this day is not yet done for you. I don't know what it is, but something doesn't feel right.**"

Kai looked up at the wolf's face, which somehow looked concerned, although Kai wasn't sure how he could tell, "Is it Hito?"

Fenrir shook his head, "**No, it is not the evil one. Something else is wrong, something that threatens you specifically, but I cannot tell what exactly.**"

Kai shrugged, "Oh well, thank you for the warning Fenrir-sama. We will just have to deal with it when it happens."

Fenrir nodded solemnly, "**Be careful.**" And with those parting words, the great wolf disappeared in a huge cloud of smoke, leaving the four Shinobi to navigate through the crowd that had formed outside the hospital.

--

As it turned out, it was easier to get in than they had thought. The giant wolf they had arrived on had helped inspire the civilians to clear a path for them, and when some of them saw the state Yue was in, they ran ahead to warn the hospital staff.

Almost as soon as they got into the building, Yue was swept away to be treated, while Kai was assigned a room of his own to wait to be checked out. He tried assuring them that he was just low on chakra, but the doctors and nurses he spoke to wouldn't hear of it. They insisted on giving him a checkup, "Just to make sure nothing else was wrong."

That was the first thing that made Kai worry. Why would doctors in the only hospital in the village be worried about a little chakra depletion when the village had just been attacked?

He wasn't left much time, however, since Choji seemed to be thinking along the same path as the doctors. Once the Akimichi got Kai to his room, where he and Neji immediately collapsed into chairs, Kai prepared himself for hours of waiting.

Kai was very surprised when a doctor came in to see him just a few minutes later. His bad feeling only got worse when the doctor simply took a small blood sample before leaving right away.

"I'm starting to agree with Fenrir," Kai said once the doctor had left, "something is definitely wrong."

Choji just waved his comment away, but Neji nodded, "I agree, the doctors are acting entirely out of regulation."

"What do you mean?" Choji asked.

"For starters they shouldn't have given me a room when all I really need is to go home and get some rest," Kai explained.

"And they sent us here despite what we said, only to come in a take a blood sample," Neji continued before his eyes widened, "wait a second…blood…"

"Oh no…" Kai said just as the door to his room opened once again, revealing an older man in a long robe that revealed nothing of his body other than his face, which was wrapped in bandages so that his forehead and right eye were completely hidden, and his heavily scarred hands.

The man smiled, an act that seemed terribly difficult for him, and turned to Kai, "You must be Wareta Kai. My name is Danzo, and I am one of the elders on the council of Konohagakure."

Kai fears were immediately confirmed. Somehow, the council had learned of his bloodline and now one of the elders had come to take him away. Danzo seemed to sense his unease and guessed the reason behind it because he dropped all pretences at being nice, "I assume you know why I am here."

Kai nodded dumbly, but Choji spoke up, "No. Why are you here?"

Danzo rounded on the plump boy, "I was not speaking to you Genin," he said Genin like it was a curse, causing Kai to flinch at the intensity of his words, "You would be wise to mind your own business."

"Elder-sama," Neji said, taking Danzo's attention off of Choji who was rapidly paling, "he means no disrespect, it is just that Kai is our friend and we would like to know why the council has taken any particular interest in him of all people. After all, he has no special qualities other than his unique situation with his past."

Danzo smirked, an expression that seemed much more accustomed to his scarred face, "Oh but that is where you're wrong Hyuga. I admire your attempt to help your 'friend' but I heard what you said about him having a bloodline during your match. I'm afraid that Kai will be removed from the ninja ranks from this moment on."

Kai's head shot up, "But what about the exams? Did I make Chunin?"

Danzo's smirk grew even more, "Ah yes, the exams. During each match the individuals in charge of the pass or fail grades make their observations and then add to them in any subsequent matches. That being the case, even though the exams were interrupted, there are still grades for you, the Hyuga, and the two fighters in the second match."

"And…" Choji prompted quietly.

"And I am happy to report that you did, in fact, impress the judges enough to be made a Chunin," Danzo finished.

Kai started to get happy, but then he noticed that Danzo was still smirking. He didn't seem like the kind of man who would be happy when he didn't get his way.

"I see you have realized that it doesn't matter at this point anyway," Danzo gloated, "The council has decided that we will retire you anyway, even though you are a Chunin now. Your bloodline is too precious to risk in the field. You will spend the night here, and tomorrow I will return to escort you to your new home where you will meet the first of your brides. We will expect…results immediately." With a smirk plastered across his face, Danzo turned and left the three shocked Genin without another word.

--

AN: I know, I know. Yue's Jutsu basically made her into a temporary Earth Bender like in Avatar: The Last Air Bender, which I don't own by the way, but I couldn't help myself. The idea just came to me, and I decided to use it. In fact, _Ishi Rendan_ isn't the only thing in this fic inspired by Avatar. My original design for Hito was based on a Fire Nation commander who was in charge of an ocean 'rig' where the Fire Nation was holding captured Earth Benders. Those of you who have seen and remember that episode now understand why he says 'fool' all the time. That guy's voice (I really need to find out his name…) is the voice I picture Hito having whenever I plan out dialogue.

Jutsu List:

_Kuchiyose no Jutsu_: Summoning Technique

_Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu_: Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique

_Doton: Doroku Gaeshi_: Earth Style: Earth Shore Return

_Doton: Ishi Rendan_: Earth Style: Stone Barrage (Original Jutsu)

_Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu_: Fire Style: Phoenix Immortal Fire Technique

_Baika no Jutsu_: Multi-size Technique

_Nikudan Sensha_:Human Bullet Tank

**__****Hakke Rokujuyon Sho:******** Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms**

Higureken: Dusk Blade - Hito's sword

I hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, only one more to go after this!

Review por favor!


	22. Chapter 22

33

--

Chapter 22

--

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Caution: Strong language in the later parts of this chapter. I apologize in advance for anyone who is offended by strong language.

AN: This is it, the last chapter of my first fanfic, and the first story that I have ever seen through to the end outside of a school assignment. I hope it has been as much fun to read as it has been to write. For anyone who really liked the story, I already have a sequel in the planning phase, but I won't be able to start writing it until August or September (see my profile for details). Until next time, enjoy the final chapter of What the Future Holds.

--

Kai was in shock. All the planning, all his hopes and dreams. In one fell swoop, Danzo had thrown it all out the window. There was nothing he could do to escape the council's wishes. They had found out about the Miraigan, and now he was doomed to a life as nothing more than an object; a possession of the council that would be used as they see fit to increase the power of Konoha.

Neji turned to him with sorrow written across his face, "Kai, I'm so sorry. This is my fault…I…"

While shocked to see the Hyuga at a loss for words, Kai shook his head and cut him off, "No Neji, this isn't your fault. They would have found out eventually. Sarutobi-sensei's plan wouldn't have worked anyway, since it seems the council can overrule my new rank just because they feel like it. It looks like I was doomed from the start."

As Kai sank further into his depression, Neji's face hardened in determination, "Choji, come on."

"Huh?" Choji said, snapping out of his stupor, "but what about Kai?"

"We don't have much time," Neji snapped at the reluctant Genin, "Come on!" Neji grabbed Choji's arm and lead him out of Kai's room, leaving him to wallow in self-pity.

--

There was a knock at the door, but Kai ignored it. He glanced at the clock and saw that it was five p.m. He had been sitting on his hospital bed for the last two hours without any disturbance, other than an occasional nurse, why did someone have to bother him now?

The person on the outside of the door knocked again before opening the door anyway. "Kai?" the voice of the Hokage pierced through the fog in Kai's mind as the old man came into sight, "Kai, are you alright?"

Kai straightened up and fixed a smile on his face, "Hai Sarutobi-sensei. I'm fine." The Hokage looked to be in relatively good shape. It seemed as if the Kazekage hadn't been able to do as much damage as originally intended since, other than a few bruises and scratches, Sarutobi was relatively uninjured.

Sarutobi smiled sadly, "You cannot fool me with that face Kai. I've spent the last several years dealing with Naruto, and he is the master at forcing smiles when he isn't really happy."

Kai's face fell again, "I'll be alright sensei; you shouldn't worry about me."

"You mean to tell me that you're giving up?" Sarutobi asked as he closed the door behind him.

Kai broke down, "What else can I do! The council overruled my Chunin ranking! I'm not even a Genin anymore! Everything we planned for was for nothing!"

Sarutobi calmly made his way over to the bed while watching the tears run freely down Kai's face. Once Kai had calmed down a little more, Sarutobi spoke again, "There are always options Kai, you just have to stay optimistic."

Kai was about to explode again when Sarutobi leaned over to whisper in Kai's ear, "I cannot talk long, I was being followed, but I lost them. It won't take them long to figure out where I went though. I don't have any power in this situation any more. The council has effectively locked me out of any discussions dealing with you on the grounds that you are a former pupil and my judgment wouldn't be impartial. Don't worry though. You still have friends in high places. There are plans in action to help you, but they rely on you staying ready as well. Don't let depression resign you to your fate. There is always hope." With that, Sarutobi straightened up with a smile and left the room once more, leaving a shocked Kai still sitting on his bed.

After a few minutes, Kai came out of his stunned silence and wiped the tears from his face. If Sarutobi said that there was still hope, Kai would have to trust him. He would just have to hope that there was still a chance.

--

Sarutobi made his way down the nondescript hospital hallway, checking the charts of the patients in each room as he passed. He knew he was being followed again; the council's agent, most likely a Root ANBU, had picked up his trail again shortly after he left Kai's room, but that didn't matter at this point. As long as the council didn't know what he had said to Kai, they shouldn't suspect anything.

Finally, Sarutobi found the room he was looking for. Seijitsu Yue was being treated for severe burns and minor chakra depletion. According to her charts, she was currently alone in her room resting. The primary treatment had gone well, and she should be able to move by the next day. The Hokage would have to speed up her recovery time.

Knocking lightly, Sarutobi entered the woman's room, "Are you awake?"

She was, "Who are you." This was a very blunt woman.

"I am one of Kai's former sensei," Sarutobi replied as he came into view and closed the door again.

"You're the Hokage," Yue said, slightly surprised. She was lying in her hospital bed with bandages wrapped around her left arm and torso. She appeared to be in relatively good condition, besides the no doubt painful burns that were most likely hidden under those bandages.

Sarutobi nodded, "Yes, I am. I helped Kai with sealing shortly after he unlocked Hito's memories, but that's not important right now."

Yue raised one eyebrow, "Really…"

"I'm afraid so," Sarutobi continued, knowing that he needed to be quick to avoid alerting the council's agent, "Kai is in trouble."

Yue immediately grew serious, "What happened?"

Sarutobi launched into an abbreviated explanation, "The council found out about the Miraigan and now they're trying to force Kai into retirement so he can rebuild the Wareta clan under the control of the council."

Yue was ready to jump out of her bed, only the burns kept her where she was. "What!" she screamed, "Can they do that!"

Sarutobi nodded solemnly, "Yes, they can. He is a Shinobi of Konoha now and, unfortunately, they can take control of his life if they have a good enough reason and choose to take advantage of it. And you need to stay silent. These rooms are relatively sound-proofed, but I am being followed by an agent of the council, and if they discovered what I was doing, they would increase security on Kai's room."

Yue nodded and settled back down into her bed, "So, what's the plan?"

Sarutobi sighed, "I still have a few allies in this village who don't share the council's ideas. I will contact a few of them and have them do what they can to get you fighting fit sooner. I will continue to arrange things so that you can make your way to 

Kai's room later on tonight and sneak him out of Konoha. Once out, I'll leave things up to you."

"How do you think the council will react?" Yue asked.

"In all honesty, I don't really know," the Hokage replied, "they could make him a missing Nin, but there is no way they would risk losing his bloodline. In all likelihood, they would only give him a 'capture on sight' order, but I cannot be sure."

"And what about me?" Yue continued, "I am willing to do whatever I need to do to save Kai, but I would like to know what I might have to deal with in the future."

Sarutobi smiled, "That is why you're the best choice. They can't do anything to you because you don't belong to a ninja village. They could issue a bounty on you, but in all likelihood, no one would pursue it because of your lack of status. And they couldn't put too much on your head without giving me an opening to cut them off. If too big of a reward was offered, I could say it was a misuse of village resources and shut down the entire thing. I can cut the council off everywhere except where Kai is directly concerned."

Yue thought for a moment before nodding, "Alright, let's do this."

"Very well," Sarutobi turned and made his way to the door once more, "I will see to getting the doctors for you, but, other than that, you'll be on your own. Just be ready to make your move tonight."

Yue sighed when the Hokage closed the door behind him. This must have been what Ushina had meant when she had said that Kai's life would only get harder.

--

As soon as Sarutobi came out of Yue's room, he made his way back toward the main lobby of the hospital. Once he had taken care of getting Yue's additional treatments, he quickly headed out of the hospital and toward the Hokage tower. He needed to do his best to continue his day like normal to keep the council from suspecting anything.

As he entered the tower, Sarutobi nodded to the secretary and made his way up the stairs toward his office doors. He wasn't expecting what he saw. "Sarutobi, how are you doing?" Danzo was waiting for him.

"Danzo," Sarutobi nodded to him before making his way around his desk to take his seat, "to what do I owe this pleasure?"

"You can stop the act Sarutobi," Danzo sneered, "I had one of my agents follow you around and I know you went to see your former student and his sensei. I am simply looking for an explanation."

Sarutobi cursed in his head. Apparently he hadn't lost the tail as well as he had thought. "You know I am not required to explain myself to you Danzo," Sarutobi said with a light smile, "but in the interest of cooperation I will. I heard about the council's actions and went to talk to Kai about it. He seemed resigned to his fate, but still asked me to check on his more recent sensei, Seijitsu Yue. I checked in on her, and then came back here."

"What did you tell her?" Danzo demanded, frustration clearly showing on the visible part of his face.

"I told her about the council's actions if that is what you're asking," Sarutobi replied evenly, "she had a right to know."

"And who are you to decide that?" Danzo said calmly, although rage shone in his eyes. He didn't like the idea of anyone close to Kai knowing about the council's plans, they couldn't afford interference.

Sarutobi rose from his chair again, "I am the Hokage of Konohagakure. I am Kai's former sensei. And I have the authority to tell Kai's only link to his past about him if I choose to do so."

That caught Danzo off guard, "What? That woman knew Kai before he came here?"

"I assume you know about his amnesia," Sarutobi waited for the council member's nod before he continued; "Yue is an old friend of his mother. She was away from their village when Hito took Kai, and she has been looking for him ever since."

Danzo's sobered immediately and took up a thoughtful look before nodding, "Very well then. She did have a right to know." Danzo then turned and left the Hokage alone in his office.

Once he was gone, Sarutobi sighed, things had just gotten a little harder.

--

Night fell over Konoha. Tonight was a particularly clear night with the moon hanging above the Hokage Mountain more than bright enough to light the streets, which was a kind of mixed blessing for anyone with business after dark. Once such person was Seijitsu Yue.

She had taken a nap earlier in the afternoon so she would be awake enough to do what she had to do. And there was no question in her mind as to what she had to do. Ushina would not like for her only son to be forced into captivity. It hadn't been too hard for her to notice the extra ANBU posted outside her room, and she would be willing to 

bet that the same precautions had been taken with Kai's room. That wouldn't be difficult to deal with though.

Yue waited until her assigned nurse had made her hourly check before making her move. Silently, Yue slid out of her hospital bed and gown before putting on a set of her everyday clothing. Kakashi had gotten her possessions from her hotel room and brought them to her before sealing what couldn't be easily transported into a scroll, which she now carried in her weapon pouch.

Once she was prepared, she made her way over to the window and eased it open. Sighing, Yue hoisted herself out the window and used her chakra to cling to the wall. After closing her window once more, Yue began hopping from one windowsill to the next, making her way toward Kai's room.

--

Kai hadn't been able to sleep. Ever since Sarutobi had left his room, he had been in the same position: sitting on the side of his bed. He hadn't moved all day. The nurses who came in to check on him were worried about the boy, but there was nothing physically wrong with him. Kai was just depressed.

He had done his best to stay hopeful. He knew that Sarutobi wouldn't lie to him, but it had proven to be too much of a challenge. The depression and despair had set in once the wait stretched on to another two hours after the Hokage had left.

He was so depressed that he didn't notice when the window to his room slid open, seemingly by itself, allowing Yue to slip inside. "Kai," she whispered.

Getting no response, Yue made her way around Kai's bed and knelt down to look him in the face, "Kai? Come on Kai, we're getting out of here."

"There's no point Yue," Kai said sadly, looking back into Yue's eyes, "It's over."

Yue slapped him, "What are you talking about Kai? It's not over until you're within the council's grasp, and from the way things look now, you're only in the hospital."

Kai lifted his hand to his sore cheek, "Yue, the council won. They stripped me of my rank. Nothing that Sarutobi-sensei and I planned worked out. We've been out maneuvered…"

"Shut up will you," Yue cut him off, "If we've been out maneuvered then why am I here in your hospital room now trying to get you out of here?"

Kai paused for a moment and stared at Yue intently, "You mean…" he trailed off.

Yue nodded anyway, "I'm getting you out of here kid. We're going back home."

Kai's face lit up and he smiled for the first time since he had checked in to the hospital, "Alright, what's the plan?"

Yue smiled back, glad that he had finally cheered up, "Come on, we're heading to the north gate. We'll have to move quickly, but we should be alright once we get out of Konoha."

Kai paused again, "But what about my clothes and my ninja gear back at my place?"

Yue reached into her weapon pouch and pulled out two scrolls, "Kakashi took care of it for us. One is my stuff, one is your stuff."

Kai hopped up from the bed and began gingerly stretching his cramped muscles while Yue replaced the two scrolls. After a few seconds of stretching, Kai nodded and Yue walked back to the window. Once the two had pulled themselves outside, Yue went to close the window once more when she heard the door to Kai's room open.

Immediately, Yue and Kai jumped up and used their chakra to attach themselves to the side of the building, above and to each side of the open window. Shortly afterward, a nurse poked her head through the window with a frantic look on her face. She quickly glanced around before pulling her head back inside and running back out of the room.

"We're probably going to have some company soon," Yue said seriously, "Let's get moving."

Kai nodded and the two Shinobi leapt away from the hospital before landing on one of the nearby buildings and beginning their trek to the far side of Konoha.

--

"Danzo-sama!"

An ANBU ran into Danzo's office, causing the elder man to jump slightly before leveling a fiery glare on the Shinobi. "What is it," he snapped, "it had better be good!"

The ANBU bowed before making his report, "We've just received word that Wareta Kai isn't in his room at the hospital. The nurses checked and Seijitsu Yue is missing as well."

Danzo nodded, he had expected as much, "Dispatch all available ANBU units. I want them found before they can escape Konoha."

"Hai!" the ANBU said before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

Danzo rose from his chair and walked over to his office window. Undoubtedly the Hokage had had something to do with Kai's escape, but knowing him, he didn't leave any links behind. Danzo could probably accuse him of planting the ideas in Yue's head, but all Sarutobi would have to say was that he just told her about what had happened to Kai and she made her own plans.

Scowling, Danzo looked out over the moonlit village. He would just have to capture Kai once more. The boy would not escape the will the council, not if he had anything to say about it.

--

"Come on Kai! Keep up!"

Kai was struggling. He hadn't exactly been able to relax since his arrival in the hospital so he was still sore from his earlier fights. Yue wasn't going to take it easy on him though, not that Kai blamed her. They were both on the run, and if the Konoha ANBU caught them, he would be taken to his future as the council's prisoner, and Yue would be imprisoned at best, and put to death at worst.

Grimacing at the pain from his complaining muscles, Kai forces himself to catch up to his sensei once more. There was no room for weakness in their situation, and Kai was determined not to let Yue down.

They had been traveling for several minutes before Yue stopped atop a building and stood silently, waiting for Kai to catch up. Kai was not too far behind her, but once he landed he had to fight to keep from collapsing. Once he regained his balance, Kai stumbled to Yue's side and looked out over the fire scarred street where they had fought Hito earlier that day.

"Yue," Kai panted, "why did we stop?"

"I've failed Kai," Yue said, Kai was shocked to hear so much sadness in her voice and was even more shocked to see the tears running down her face, "Ever since Hito attacked our home I've been planning for the day I would fight him. I trained as I traveled to Konoha, but in the end, I still failed to get my revenge."

Kai stood silent, looking out over the results of the destruction that he had witnessed and, in a small part, helped create. "Yue," Kai said finally, "I don't blame you."

"But you should!" Yue snapped, "I promised your mother I would protect you, that I would take care of Hito, but I couldn't."

"But you did," Kai said into the silence once more, "I'm still here aren't I?"

Yue sobbed silently, "Yes, but…"

"But nothing," Kai interrupted, "We both fought Hito, and we both survived. There is nothing to be ashamed of."

Yue sighed but before she could speak she felt a presence behind them. Turning quickly, Yue spoke her mind, "Shit…" Behind them were six ANBU standing on the edge of the building. The moon hung behind them, casting their own shadows in such a way that their masks were obscured, making it even harder to tell them apart than usual.

"Wareta Kai and Seijitsu Yue," One of them, most likely the captain, stepped down from the ledge as he spoke, "you are under arrest by order of the council of Konoha."

The two Shinobi knew they were in trouble. The odds were three to one against them, and that was assuming that there weren't more ANBU on their way now that they had been found. Yue decided to try to catch them off guard, and what better way than to act like they were surprised. Hoping Kai would catch on; Yue spoke up, "On what charges?"

Kai was surprised by Yue's actions, he had expected her to attack them or else grab him and continue running, but he decided to trust her, especially since he had absolutely no idea what to do. The ANBU didn't seem to have that problem, "Wareta Kai is accused of fleeing against the direct orders of the council to remain in his room at the hospital. Seijitsu Yue is accused of aiding in his attempted escape."

Yue let mock rage take over her expression, "What is this about? Is it too much to ask for a sensei to be able to take a walk with her student without having half the village's security descending on them? I heard about Kai's fate and I decided to spend a little time with him before your council took him out of my reach!"

Kai fought against the surprise warring to take over his face and fixed a sad expression there. Yue's acting and story seemed believable to him, but all of it would be ruined if Kai didn't play his own part. Meanwhile, Yue had finished her rant, leaving a confused silence during which the five ANBU still standing on the edge of the building shifted uncomfortably and exchanged glances with each other.

The lead ANBU wasn't fooled, "You actually expect us to believe that? If that was the case, why didn't you check him out through the Hospital's main office?"

Yue wasn't sure why the ANBU was trying to justify their own actions, but she had to admit that she had been caught. Thinking quickly, she spoke once more, "Because I couldn't. You don't actually think I wanted to try to go through all the hassle to try to check him out early, even if it was only for a short while, only to be denied after hours of 

effort? I'm not that stupid. I felt it would be easier to just go on and take him and try to be back with him before anyone noticed."

When the ANBU next spoke Kai could hear the smirk in his voice, "Be that as it may, I still need to ask that you both return with me to meet with Danzo-sama and the rest of the council for questioning."

Yue let her expression of rage grow further, "You would get in the way of a sensei and her last night with her only student and her best friend's only son!"

The lead ANBU flinched slightly at the intensity in Yue's voice before he spoke again with the same level of arrogance as before, "So you did know each other before… I'm afraid that this only increases the likelihood that you were trying to help him run. I really have to insist that you come with us now." The man then shifted his hand over his shoulder to place it on the hilt of his katana. As Kai watched, the other ANBU followed his lead, either drawing kunai or placing their hands on their own katana.

Yue swore silently and stepped in front of Kai, "Stay back Kai, you need to escape."

"Like hell!" Kai said, stepping up to stand next to Yue, "I'm a shinobi too, and I'm not about to go down without a fight. Besides," he smirked as he activated his second level Miraigan, "they aren't allowed to kill me, and that gives me an edge."

The lead ANBU growled under his breath, "You shouldn't overestimate your abilities demon lover."

Kai's face darkened, "So your one of the ones who sees Oni-san as a demon as well. That won't give you any favor in my book."

"We'll have to talk about that later Kai," Yue said offhandedly as they sank into their fighting crouches, "I can't believe I never asked you about that earlier, what with half the village calling you a 'demon lover'."

"I'll be sure to explain once we get out of here," Kai smiled before fixing a glare on the ANBU across the building from them, "but for now, we have these guys to deal with."

"I'll leave the woman to you men," the lead ANBU said as he drew his blade, "the boy is mine. Don't hold back though, Danzo-sama specifically said that only the boy was to be kept alive."

As the lead ANBU approached Kai he stepped away from Yue, leaving an opening for the other five ANBU who leapt from their perches to surround Yue, cutting her off from her student. "She can't help you now boy," the ANBU said harshly, holding his katana in a relaxed grip, showing that he didn't see Kai as much of a threat, "And all 

Danzo-sama said was that you needed to be brought back alive and in one piece; he didn't say anything about being undamaged. I think that as long as you can still produce enough children to keep the council happy, they shouldn't bee too upset. You will pay the price for associating with the demon."

"I know what Naruto has sealed within him," Kai said as he pulled out a kunai and held it at the ready, "but I seem to understand something that the rest of you don't, he is not the Kyuubi no Kitsune. He contains the demon that nearly destroyed Konoha twelve years ago, but he is its jailer, nothing more."

"You can talk all you want boy," the ANBU said, "but that doesn't change the fact that you have been tainted by the demon. You cannot be trusted. If it wasn't for the council's interest in your bloodline, you would already be dead."

Kai sighed, "Very well, if you won't see reason…" Kai brought his arm up in front of his face, holding his kunai along it between him and the ANBU.

The ANBU laughed, "You can fight if you want to, but you know you don't stand a chance against an ANBU, much less an ANBU captain."

Kai smiled widely, "Try me." The ANBU decided to take Kai's advice.

--

Yue cautiously eyed the five ANBU surrounding her. She knew Kai would be alright. Even if she didn't like the thought of him fighting an ANBU captain, she knew he was more than capable of handling himself, which would allow her to concentrate on her opponents. A shinobi couldn't become an ANBU unless they were above average as regular Jonin, or had good connections, but Kai's Miraigan, along with his training, would give him enough of an extra boost that he should be able to take care of himself.

Putting thoughts of her student out of her mind for the time being, Yue drew a pair of kunai and took a fighting stance, cautiously eyeing the three Shinobi in front of her and to her sides while trying to listen for any movement from the two positioned behind her. She wouldn't be able to use any jutsu for now. Any attempt at hand signs would probably end in her getting beheaded by an ANBU katana.

For now she was going to have to fight with Taijutsu alone, which she had absolutely no problem with. There was a certain satisfaction to be had from defeating an opponent with the strength of your body instead of the power of your Jutsu.

Suddenly, the two ANBU in front of her drew their katana and charged, sweeping their blades toward her, one going high and the other going low, forcing her to flip backwards to avoid the attack. She managed to dodge the attacks without losing her kunai in the process, only to end up standing between the two ANBU who had been behind her. Acting swiftly, one of the ANBU crouched down and swept her feet out from under her, 

while the other landed a spin kick to her head. When the two attacks connected, Yue was sent head over heels only to land unceremoniously on her back as her kunai slid away.

The two ANBU reached down to pull her to her feet, but Yue planted two chakra powered punches to their faces, sending them flying back to land several yards away, unconscious. Groaning, Yue rose to her feet again and pulled out another kunai, "It's not going to be that easy to beat me."

--

"Damn you boy," the ANBU captain shouted, "Stop moving!"

He was pissed off. Oh yes. The ANBU had been furiously attacking Kai for the last few minutes, expecting the battle to end quickly, but he had yet to land a hit. It had gotten to the point that if he were to catch Kai with his blade, he probably would have killed him in his rage.

Kai knew this, and he also knew that he had to finish this skirmish soon so he could help Yue take care of her opponents, not that she would need it if the random glances he was getting of her battle were anything to go by. They didn't have time to play around. If they took too long, the ANBU would get reinforcements, and then Kai and Yue would almost certainly be captured despite their best efforts.

Seeing an opening, Kai used his left hand to catch the ANBU's sword arm, effectively interrupting his next attack; then, Kai stepped in close and drove his right knee into the man's stomach, wincing as his knee bashed into the light armor all ANBU wore under their uniforms. Armor or not, Kai's attack had its intended effect. The ANBU stumbled backward slightly, still managing to keep a grip on his katana, and gasped as he tried to catch his breath.

"Damn…You…" the man panted as he glared at Kai.

"You seem to be saying that a lot," Kai said, smiling as he formed a short chain of hand seals to adjust his chakra weights. Kai released a burst of chakra and immediately felt lighter, which wasn't a surprise since he had just removed 66 pounds of extra weight from his body.

Hopping slightly, Kai relished the feeling of strength that he got when he removed his weights. During his training, Yue had insisted he spend some time without the extra weight, just so he would be able to anticipate the difference in his abilities when he removed the weights in a battle situation. She had believed, and rightly so, that if he wasn't at least slightly accustomed to being without the weight he could make a dangerous mistake in battle.

Kai continued his celebration for a moment before his face firmed and he took a stance with his left arm extended in front of him while his right arm was bent close to his 

side. He stood at an angle to his opponent with his legs in a light crouch and his left hand in a half-tiger seal. "Alright," Kai said confidently, "let's get this over with."

The ANBU had to fight down a laugh, "Oh come on. You actually think that you can beat me? Your Jutsu didn't even do anything. There wasn't any immediate effect and I don't sense any chakra floating around waiting for you to trigger it."

Kai had to fight down a wince, when he came back, he would have to inform the Hokage of the ANBU's ignorance of chakra weights. Putting those thoughts away, Kai decided to try taunting him again, the more enraged the man was, the better off Kai would be, "Attack me then, and find out the hard way."

Once again, The ANBU took his advice. Growling in frustration, the man closed the small gap between them and attempted and overhead slice that would have cleaved the boy in two. Kai felt the tingling in the top of his head and saw where the man would be a split second afterward and lifted his left hand once again to catch the man's fist at the base of his katana. "You carry that sword like a Shinobi," Kai taunted, "but it is clear to me that you have no idea how to wield it like a Shinobi."

Growling in frustration, the ANBU redoubled his efforts to push against Kai's restraining hand, but Kai wasn't going to allow it. Bringing up his right hand, Kai smashed his palm into the back of his opponent's elbow, snapping his arm around with a sickening crack.

The ANBU screamed in pain and jumped back, dropping his sword in the process. The man glared at Kai through his mask, which really lessened the effect it had on him, as he cradled his broken arm. "You little bastard!" the ANBU screamed.

The Genin wasn't paying attention. Slowly, Kai reached for the ANBU's discarded katana, admiring the craftsmanship. It was a fine blade, a pity that it had been in the possession of someone who didn't know how to use it properly. Kai would have to fix that. Grasping the hilt firmly, Kai stepped forward and began making feints toward the shocked ANBU. Kai would make a strike, but pull back just as the blade cut through the man's uniform, sometimes leaving light scratches on his skin as well.

After a several seconds and a few dozen strikes, the ANBU had been scared into silence and Kai relaxed his stance. "Do you know why you lost this fight?" Kai asked the stunned Shinobi.

Kai waited for a few seconds until it became clear that the man wasn't going to speak. "You lost because you underestimated your opponent," Kai continued, "You lost because you weren't given enough information about the situation, and I'm willing to bet that if you had known more, you wouldn't have agreed to the mission. I suggest that you rethink your position before you blindly follow someone as power hungry as Danzo again."

Kai then leapt into the air and flipped over the ANBU, landing behind the man, "Because next time he sends you into a skirmish blinded by lies, you may not come out alive," Kai then struck the man on the back of head with the pommel of the katana. The ANBU crumpled to the ground where he lay, unconscious.

With a few quick slices, Kai severed the harness holding the katana's sheath to the ANBU's back. Once it was free, he picked it up and admired it just as he had done for the blade. This sheath was heavier than his old one, which he quickly decided was because it had been reinforced with metal, which would allow him to use it as a weapon as well as the blade. Smiling in satisfaction, Kai turned to Yue in time to see she had already taken care of her opponents as well.

--

Yue faced down her three opponents, who shifted uneasily after watching her knock out the other two ANBU so easily. Deciding to take advantage of her situation, Yue began focusing chakra to her hands before using the extra energy to speed up her reflexes. Acting quickly, Yue formed a chain of seals in a fraction of the regular time and called out, "_Doton: Ishi Rendan!_" and pushed her chakra into the stone building beneath them and then into the ground from there.

The three ANBU cursed and charged her, hoping to stop her before her Jutsu took effect, but they were too late. With a grin on her face, Yue lifted her hands and stomped on the roof, causing chunks of rock to jump up in front of the ANBU, striking each of them in the chin and sending them backward.

As the ANBU began to try to climb to their feet again, Yue gestured once more and the stone they were lying on seemed to flow around their legs, pinning them in place despite their struggles. Calmly, Yue then strolled to two of the Shinobi and knocked them out. When she reached the third ANBU she bent down over him, "Be thankful that I didn't want to kill you," before sending him to join his partners in unconsciousness.

Glancing up, Yue saw Kai watching her expectantly with a sheathed katana in his hand. "Got a new toy did you?" Yue asked, nodding to the blade.

Kai smiled sheepishly as he tucked the sheath into his belt, "That ANBU guy didn't know how to use it. It was a waste of a high quality weapon." Yue smiled as Kai re-activated his weights, setting them to their former level, and nodded to her.

Turning back toward their former goal, Yue took off once more, leaping from building to building with Kai following close behind.

--

It wasn't long before the walls of Konoha came into view. Yue once again slowed to a halt as they reached the last building before the wall. "This is it Kai," Yue said, "This is the last step to leaving Konoha. If you take it, there's no going back."

"Why are you asking me this now Yue," Kai asked, lifting his eyebrow as he looked over to his sensei.

Yue blushed slightly, although the shadows hid it, "Well…" she paused, trying to figure out how to say it, "the council wants you to live your life to rebuild your family. They want you to…live your life to have sex. Some boys your age would find that to be…appealing…"

Kai's face reddened, "I know what you mean Yue, but I don't want that kind of life. It's true that some boys would like that, but I'm not them. I want to be free to live my own life, not one controlled by the council."

Before Yue could respond, a feminine voice spoke up from behind them, "Um, excuse me…We're looking for someone and were wondering if you could help."

Kai and Yue whipped around for the second time that night and once again found that someone had managed to sneak up on them.

The light from the moon lit up the area enough for Kai to make out two figures standing before them on the opposite side of the rooftop. One was a small, full bodied female about five feet tall, mostly wearing bandages wrapped closely around her curves with a tan split-skirt covering her below the waist in the front and back but leaving the sides of her legs bare, giving her more freedom of movement. On her left arm and leg she wore a matching set composed of a gauntlet and shin guard that were the dark red/brown of high-quality leather. Her shin guard had two white blades curving gracefully upward from her calf just above her heeled boots. On her left thigh, just above the shin guard, she wore a Suna Hitai-ate that held a kunai against her leg. She carried a huge scythe; easily a foot longer than she was tall with a blade that stretched out four feet and two large bells attached to the handle which was currently resting in a harness that wrapped around her body over the bandages. The oddest thing of all was that she appeared to have cat ears and a leopard-spotted tail.

The other was a man with a stoic look on his face. He was about six feet tall and stood with his arms crossed, as if he was completely bored with the situation. He wore a light brown long-sleeved shirt with darker brown shorts and plain ninja sandals. Over his shirt he wore a dark brown leather shoulder pad that covered his left shoulder and wrapped around his neck where it was secured with a belt buckle. On his right shoulder was a shoulder guard that was similar to his left, except it was made of metal and sported a row of spikes that ran down the center. He wore a Kumo Hitai-ate strapped around his right arm, just above his elbow and his brown hair was spiked forward so it hung partially over one eye. Like his companion, he too had an over sized weapon strapped to his back, but in his case, it looked just like an over-sized kunai.

Kai and Yue exchanged a glance before Yue spoke up, "Uh…sure…what do you need?"

The cat-girl reached into the waist band of her skirt and pulled out a small piece of paper, "Um…we're looking for some guy named Wareta Kai…"

Kai paled and glanced once more to Yue who was watching the newcomers warily. "Hey Izumi," the boy said suddenly, "wasn't there a picture to go along with the card that that Danzo guy gave us?" Kai stiffened, these two were working for Danzo. It was clear to him that they weren't Konoha Shinobi, but they didn't look old enough to be missing Nin, although that wasn't much to go by. They were probably just mercenaries, and if they were, then they must be good to still be alive when they only looked as though they were a few years older than Kai, twenty at the most.

"Oh yeah, thanks Kyo-kun!" the now named Izumi said cheerily before reaching into her waistband once more and pulling out a picture. Slowly, Izumi looked at the picture, then at Kai, and then back at the picture. She then held it out to Kyo, who glanced at it and then shifted his stance, turning slightly and bringing his right hand above of his left arm, which he brought forward as well. Izumi quickly placed the picture and paper back into a pocket on the inside of her waistband and placed her right hand on the handle of her huge scythe.

"Crap…" Kai said quietly, but Izumi seemed to hear it.

"These ears aren't just for decoration you know," she said, "and I think you just confirmed your identity Wareta Kai."

"I don't know what you did to piss of the council of Konoha," Kyo said, still holding his stance, "but you need to come with us."

Yue shook her head, "I'm sorry you two, but Kai will be leaving Konoha one way or the other."

The two mercenaries exchanged a glance before Izumi spoke up again, "According to the information we were given, you must be Seijitsu Yue," when Yue gave a stiff nod, she continued, "Look, I'm sure you are a very capable shinobi, but you cannot take on both of us and expect to win. Maybe if you were only fighting one of us you could come out on top, but never against both of us."

Yue smiled weakly, "Well then, it's a good thing I won't be fighting alone."

"Who…?" Kyo said, glancing around, still on guard, until his eyes rested on Kai, who had taken his own stance, "You mean him? He couldn't be more than a Genin, there's no way he would be able to stand up to us."

Kai smirked slightly, "That is exactly what the ANBU captain I met earlier said, right before I knocked him out."

Kyo sighed, "Fine, have it your way." Narrowing his eyes, Kai jumped to the side and activated his Miraigan before taking his stance once more.

"I'll take the kid Izumi-chan," Kyo said, turning to face Kai once again.

"Alright," Izumi said as he crouched slightly while facing Yue, "but don't kill him Kyo, we need him alive or else we won't get paid."

Kyo sighed, "I know Izumi."

Suddenly Izumi blurred out of existence, only to re-appear next to Kyo before flinging her arms around him, "I know you do, I just like to tease you."

Kyo sighed again, "Yet again, I know." Izumi gave him a kiss on his cheek before blurring back to her previous spot with a serious look on her face as if nothing had happened.

Yue and Kai exchanged a glance before looking back to their opponents. "There is no way I'm going to get caught by them," Kai exclaimed, "they're freaking crazy!"

"Keep your opinions to yourself boy," Kyo said with a sneer as he moved his right hand into a hidden pocket in his left sleeve. When he pulled it back, he was holding a senbon needle in his hand.

"Let's take care of them quickly Kyo-kun," Izumi said as she eyed Yue warily, "I'm getting hungry."

Kyo sighed, knowing his wallet was going to lose some weight soon, "Alright Izumi-chan." Kai followed the exchange warily. Could these two really be mercenaries?

Finally, Kyo moved. Before Kai knew it, his shoulder started tingling and he shifted slightly, just in time to dodge the senbon that Kyo had been holding just moments before. Kyo's eyes widened, "Lucky dodge." He reached into a pocket on his sleeve just under his hand and pulled out another senbon before sending it at Kai as well, just as fast as the last one. But just like before, Kai's Miraigan warned him in time for him to dodge it

Kyo growled in frustration and reached into the pocket once more, "Very good, but can you dodge this!" Kai groaned when Kyo pulled out a handful of senbon needles. Just how many needles were in that pocket anyway?

--

Yue and Izumi were at a standstill. Both of them were close range fighters, and both of them were waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, Yue drew a kunai, "Fine, if you don't want to go first, then I will." Yue charged her opponent, quickly closing the distance between the two. She had hoped that since the girl's scythe was so large that she wouldn't be able to get it into position to defend herself quickly enough. She was wrong.

Just as Yue came within striking distance, Izumi whipped her scythe around from her back and set the spiked tip of the handle into the ground, placing the over-sized blade between her and Yue's kunai, deflecting the smaller blade and leaving the two standing close together. "Nice try," Izumi taunted, tilting her head slightly to the side, "but now, it's my turn!" Izumi lifted the huge scythe with surprising ease and spun it over her head before bringing it down upon her opponent.

Yue was surprised at the strength the girl must possess to lift such a huge weapon, but not surprised enough for it to dull her reflexes. Seeing the huge blade threatening to skewer her, Yue dove to the side and rolled back to her feet before springing back in toward Izumi's side, hoping to catch her off guard. But once again, Yue was blocked by the scythe blade as the cat-girl spun it around to block her seemingly without effort.

Yue leapt back with a grimace and returned her kunai to her weapon pouch before bringing her hands together in front of her, "Let's try something else."

--

Kai grunted as his feet hit the ground hard. Dodging Kyo's newest barrage of senbon proved to be Kai's most difficult challenge yet. The mercenary was throwing the senbon in a furious barrage that made it very difficult for Kai to dodge, even with the advance warnings he was getting from his bloodline. Finally, Kyo ceased his barrage, "Well, that didn't work very well…" Sighing, Kyo reached over his shoulder and grabbed onto his over-sized kunai, "Looks like it's time for plan B…" With seemingly little effort, Kyo lifted the huge, diamond-shaped blade from its harness and set it across his shoulders, resting it on the metal plate on his right shoulder.

"Shall we?" Kyo said, gesturing with his free hand to the katana Kai had tucked into his belt. Nodding firmly, Kai drew his katana and held it to his side before charging in, bringing the blade up at the last second in a diagonal slash that Kyo easily blocked with his huge weapon. Kai blinked, he hadn't even seen Kyo lift it again. Was it even possible for a weapon that size to move that fast?

"Surprised?" Kyo asked with a small smirk, "Get used to it." With a small grunt of effort, Kyo pushed Kai away, ending their deadlock, and swung at him, attempting to hit him with the flat of the blade. Kai jumped into the air, barely managing to clear the weapon, before trying to kick Kyo's head.

Just before Kai could make contact however, Kyo's left hand shot up and caught his foot. "Nice try," Kyo taunted before flinging Kai like a rag doll toward the edge of the building.

Kai struggled back to his feet and took a ready stance again. Who were these two?

--

"_Doton: Ishi Rendan!_" Yue once more performed her signature Jutsu and pushed her chakra through the building below them and into the ground while Izumi looked on, mildly confused.

"Is that it?" She asked, once more using a more innocent sounding voice, "That wasn't very impressive…"

Yue smirked, "Just wait." Suddenly, Yue charged her again, lifting her arms as she went until they were above her head. Just as Yue reached her opponent, she jumped into the air, leaping over a swipe of Izumi's scythe, and brought her hands together before slamming them down on Izumi's head in a double axe handle.

When Yue landed behind Izumi, large chunks of stone jumped into the air all around her, sent airborne due to her impact. Smiling, Yue turned and kicked one of them toward Izumi, who was knocked forward by the large stone before she realized that she was even under attack.

Yue stood there with several chunks of rock falling back into place around her while Izumi struggled to her feet. She couldn't fight down a gasp when Izumi turned to face her again with a huge smile on her face, "That was pretty good. Want to try again?" Izumi took a fighting stance with her scythe held in front of her, with the blade close to the ground and pointing toward Yue, and the other end of the handle over her head with her left hand resting on it while her right hand bore the rest of the weapon's weight at waist height.

Yue winced involuntarily. The girl hadn't even been scratched by Yue's attack, despite the fact that she hadn't been able to guard against any of the strikes. Nevertheless, Yue wasn't about to give up.

--

Kai grunted with effort as he pushed against Kyo in another weapon deadlock. It was amazing how much strength he had in his right arm. It was crazy enough that this guy was able to wield the huge weapon with only one arm, but the fact that he could move it as if it was as light as Kai's katana was a little much.

"Look," Kyo said in a subdued voice, "why don't you just give up. It's obvious that you're outclassed here, why do you insist on forcing me to hurt you?"

Kai sneered, "I'm not giving up. I won't return to the council. I won't lose my freedom!" With an unexpected burst of strength, Kai pushed Kyo backward and used his now free hand to pull the metal lined sheath free from his belt. In the same motion, Kai brought the sheath around toward Kyo's face, hoping to catch him off guard. Luck was not with him however, as Kyo casually raised his left hand to catch the sheath a few inches away from his head.

"What do you mean you won't give up your freedom?" Kyo questioned while holding the sheath in a steady grip.

Kai struggled against his opponent's hold for a second, completely forgetting about the blade in his other hand. Finally, Kai looked back at Kyo with hatred in his eyes, "Why do you care! You're working for Danzo!"

Kyo sighed and released Kai's sheath before spinning his blade for a second and imbedding the point several inches in the rooftop. Leaning on his weapon, Kyo caught Kai's weary gaze and gestured him to sheath his sword. Kai stepped back and cautiously sheathed his blade before tucking it back into his belt.

"I've got a weird feeling about this whole job now," Kyo said slowly before glancing to the side where the two women were, "maybe we should stop them before we talk…"

--

Yue stomped the roof below her feet, causing a chunk of the roof to rise into the air before she punched it, launching it at the scythe wielder, who merely brought up her scythe, which was glowing a deep red, and cleaved it neatly in half. "You'll have to do better than that," Izumi taunted as she began running toward Yue, quickly closing the distance between them.

Yue didn't hesitate in the face of her attacker. Taking a deep breath, Yue lifted her hands into the air, pulling on her chakra that she had pushed into the stone beneath her feet. With a shudder and a loud crack, the roof of the building broke between the two, forcing Izumi to skid to a halt on the edge of the break or else fall into the rooms below.

Exhaling, Yue brought her arms down to her sides as dozens of stones from the roof rose into the air between the two shinobi. As Izumi's eyes widened, Yue thrust her arms forward and pushed out with her chakra at the same time. The floating stones shook for a moment before shooting toward Izumi, forcing the girl into an impressive display of acrobatics and agility, not to mention scythe skills, to avoid or block them all.

"Like I said," Izumi said, panting slightly, "you'll have to do better than that."

Yue smirked, "That's fine, because I'm not done yet."

Yue swept her hands to her sides before bringing them together in front of her, confusing Izumi. That is, she was confused until a small stone struck her in the back. Twisting around, Izumi saw the stones she had avoided were still floating behind her and most were flying in her direction again. This time, Izumi was unable to dodge the stones and was quickly knocked down onto the rooftop where she was forced to endure the barrage.

Yue fell to her knees. She had taken her Jutsu to its limits and now she was almost completely out of chakra. She would have to hope that Kai was able to take care of the other one on his own. Suddenly, Yue heard a groan. Startled, Yue looked up and watched, eyes wide in shock, as Izumi rose to her feet again and turned to look at her.

"That was a _really_ good try," Izumi said in her cheerful voice again, "but it still wasn't good enough." Izumi almost seemed to skip around the hole Yue had made in the building as she made her way over to where the Kunoichi had collapsed.

Izumi stood over Yue with her scythe in her left hand, the blade close to the ground while the handle extended across her back. As Yue looked on, Izumi reached up with her free hand and brushed her shoulder length red hair out of her eyes, leaving only a single strand running down the center of her forehead, before bending over to fix her gaze on Yue. "You should have just given up," Izumi said as her strange, green and blue eyes began to glow ominously, "that way, you might not have had to die."

Yue tried to say something, but fear had her in its iron grip. What was this girl? "I wonder…" Izumi said as her eyes suddenly flashed red, "…how big of a puddle you'll make…" Izumi smiled a smile that would have been sweet in any other situation, but now it just made Yue shake even worse. Standing straight again, Izumi brought her scythe up and placed both hands on it, swinging it over her head.

Then, just as the cat-girl brought the scythe down to end Yue's life, an over-sized kunai intercepted it, stopping the lethal point of the blade just a few inches from Yue's head. "Kyo!" Izumi half shouted half whined, whipping around to face her partner, "What did you do that for?"

Kyo remained calm despite Izumi's exclamation, "I have a strange feeling about this job Izumi. I don't think we were given all the details."

Izumi sighed, "Well of course not. We never are, but that's never stopped us before."

"True," Kyo said as Kai walked up behind Yue and helped her back to her feet, "but none of our other jobs have included the capture and return of a twelve year old boy that was somehow supposed to have committed some huge, and as of yet unidentified, crime against Konoha."

Izumi started to respond but paused before shrugging, "I see your point." Seemingly without effort, Izumi spun the scythe again and brought it behind her back, somehow securing it to its harness in the same motion.

Kyo sighed and followed her example, although he required two hands to fasten his weapon into his carry-harness. "Alright," he said once he had completed his task, "start talking. What did Danzo leave out of our briefing?"

Kai, once making sure Yue was stable on her feet, stepped forward and took a deep breath, "Alright, I'm willing to bet that Danzo told you something about me being a fugitive who needed to be caught at all costs and Yue was a co-conspirator who you could kill if necessary." Kai paused for a moment until Kyo and Izumi both nodded, then he took another breath and continued, "The truth is I am not even from this village originally. To make a long story short, I was kidnapped from my village several months ago by a guy named Zanbifushi Hito. He wiped my memory and attempted to forcibly steal my body so he could extend his own life. I was saved and brought here by a Konoha Jonin named Hatake Kakashi who sponsored me as a potential Shinobi of Konoha. I've spent the last few months here trying to rebuild my life."

"OK…" Izumi said hesitantly, "but that still doesn't explain anything…"

"I'm getting there," Kai cut her off, "I'm just nervous you know…I mean, with everything that's happened…It's a lot to deal with." Kai felt his nerves starting to get to him. He fought to keep control, but he knew that he wouldn't last too much longer unless he could get the two mercenaries to believe him.

"It's alright," Kyo said calmly, "take your time."

Kai smiled, "I have a kekkei genkai. It allows me to predict the future, which is how I dodged your senbon," Kyo nodded in sudden understanding and Kai continued, "My bloodline is the reason why Hito came after me. It would be a valuable asset for someone like him. Anyway, after the Chunin Exams, Danzo found out about my bloodline and decided that he would…take matters into his own hands to ensure the betterment of Konoha."

"Meaning…" Izumi prompted.

Kai blushed as he spoke, "He wanted to basically force me to marry under the council supervision so I could hopefully produce more Shinobi with my abilities."

Kyo and Izumi exchanged a look before Izumi nodded, "He isn't lying."

Kyo turned back to the other two and said, "Alright, that works for us."

"You two get out of here, we'll cover for you. We'll tell Danzo you got away from us," Izumi said before pausing for a moment, "Which way were you planning on heading?"

Yue then spoke up again, "North. We were going back to our home village."

Izumi nodded, "Then we'll send them in the opposite direction. We weren't hired to chase you outside of Konoha, just told not to let you escape so he can't try to hold anything against us."

"But what about the damage I caused with my Jutsu?" Yue asked.

"Well…" Izumi said, obviously stumped, "maybe you should just get going. We can tell Danzo that we chased you around to the south side of the village after our first encounter here, but he might not buy it…"

"Then that will have to do," Yue nodded, "Thank you."

Kai overcame his shock and bowed to the two mercenaries, who promptly blushed, "Thank you for you help."

Kyo waved his hand airily, "Don't worry about it. Just keep yourself alive. We need to finish our match some time when things aren't quite as desperate."

Kai laughed weakly, "Count on it."

Izumi frowned suddenly and walked over to Yue and placed her hand on the weaker woman's shoulder before she bent down to stare into her eyes. Suddenly, Yue flinched slightly before standing up straighter. "There," Izumi said with a satisfied smile on her face, "that should last you long enough for you to get some real rest."

Kai looked around with a confused look on his face, "What just happened?"

Kyo gave a small smile, "Izumi is…different. Because of her…lineage…she has enough extra chakra that she can transfer some of it to someone else and still be able to function normally."

"Ah…" Kai said, "I see…I think."

Izumi disappeared suddenly only to pop up again on Kai's other side. "Don't worry about it," she said, ruffling his hair, "maybe I'll explain the next time we meet."

"Uh…Yeah," Kai said, still confused but more freaked out than anything else. He and Yue still needed to get out of Konoha as quickly as possible.

"Be careful out there," Kyo said before he and Izumi leapt away, traveling toward Hokage tower.

"Come on Kai," Yue said after a few seconds, "we need to get going."

"Right," Kai said as Yue leapt from the building to the huge wall surrounding Konoha. Sighing, Kai followed her and left Konoha, knowing he wouldn't see it again for a long time, if at all.

--

The two Shinobi traveled away from Konoha for a few minutes before Yue stopped on a tree branch over a small clearing, seemingly in the middle of nowhere. "What's up Yue?" Kai asked, "Why did you stop?"

"We just need to wait here for a while Kai," Yue said, "We're waiting for someone."

"Uh…Ok…" Kai was confused, but decided to trust Yue. Besides, he was worn out from the two fights with the frantic sprints before and after each. He was more than ready to take a break. Sighing in relief, Kai dropped to the ground and sat up against an old oak tree while Yue quietly laughed at him from above.

It wasn't too long before Kai heard the telltale signs of someone traveling through the trees. He jumped to his feet and slipped behind his oak tree, taking himself out of the line of sight of whoever was approaching.

"What are you doing Kai," Yue said loudly, making Kai jump, "why are you hiding from Kakashi?"

Kai stepped out from behind the tree and saw the masked Jonin standing next to the oak tree while Yue looked down from above. Kai blushed and laughed uneasily, "Uh…sorry…"

Kakashi laughed, "Better safe than sorry, right Kai."

Kai smiled, "Yeah… So, what are you doing here Kakashi-sensei?"

"I couldn't just let you leave without getting to say good bye could I?" Kakashi asked, "And I had something I wanted to give to you." Kakashi reached into his hip pouch and pulled out a Jutsu scroll. "Most people can't use this move," he said as he handed the scroll over, "but I'm confident that the Miraigan will give the skills you need to overcome its limitations. I suggest you wait a while before you open the scroll though. I know you'll be anxious to get to it, but trust me when I say you should wait a while, at least until you get back to your home village, so you have time to get it down all at once."

Kai took the scroll and stared at the kanji for lightning written on it for a second before placing it carefully in his own weapon pouch. "Thank you Kakashi-sensei," Kai said, bowing to the Jonin, "I'll do my best to wait."

Kakashi waved off his show of gratitude, "You don't need to thank me Kai; I am just doing my job. Yue will be taking over your training from now on, so I need to do whatever I can to ensure I fulfilled my duties as your sensei."

Kai smiled until he once again heard the sounds of someone approaching through the brush. He tensed slightly until he saw Kakashi smiling. Forcing himself to relax, Kai leaned over to see around Kakashi just in time to catch sight of Neji and Choji entering the small clearing.

"Kai," Neji said when he caught sight of the boy, "It's good to see you made it. I wasn't sure that the Hokage got my warning in time."

"You told Sarutobi-sensei?" Kai asked, slightly surprised.

Neji nodded, "I know what it's like to be trapped in an undesirable fate. I wouldn't wish that on anyone if I could help it."

"And he was very insistent that we do something about it," Choji said with a smile, "he was on the verge of breaking into the Hokage's office just to let him know what was happening."

"Wow," Kai said, slightly awestruck by what Neji had done, "I don't know what to say…"

"Don't worry about it," Neji cut him off, "Just make sure that you come back some day so we can finish our match."

Kai smiled, "I'll be sure to do that."

"Now, there should be only one more person to show up…" Yue trailed off as, once again, the sound of someone traveling through the forest reached everyone's ears.

"Hey Oni-san," Naruto shouted as he came into view, "sorry I'm late, but I had to find someone else first." Naruto turned around and grabbed someone's arm, "Come on already, you can't chicken out now."

Kai watched, confused as Naruto slowly drug Ino out of the cover of the forest and into view. The two caught each other's gaze for a moment before both looked away, blushing slightly in the dim moonlight. Naruto chuckled before stepping toward Kai and suddenly pausing, looking up into the trees, "Who is that Oni-san?"

Kai followed his gaze and saw Yue staring at him quizzically. Seeing an opportunity, Kai decided introductions were in order, "Naruto, this is Seijitsu Yue, an old friend of my mother's and my sensei for the month before the Chunin Exam. Yue, this is Naruto, he's the friend I was telling you about."

Yue hopped down from her perch and crouched in front of Naruto, scrutinizing him intently. After a few seconds, Yue smiled and stood once again, "I like you Naruto. I don't know why the villagers call you a Demon, and right now I don't have time to find out, but if Kai thinks your ok, then your good in my book too."

Naruto looked at Yue puzzled before suddenly remembering why he had come to this out-of-the-way clearing outside of Konoha. Quickly, Naruto jumped forward and wrapped Kai in a brotherly hug, "Take care of yourself Oni-san. I won't forgive you if you don't come back."

Kai smiled, fighting back tears as he faced his closest friend, "Don't worry Naruto, I'll be back sooner or later, we just have to figure out some way to keep the council off of my back."

"And I know you will," Naruto smiled, "just take care of yourself."

Kai nodded as Naruto stepped back. Sighing, Kai turned to the last person in the clearing who had yet to speak up. "Hey Ino…" Kai trailed off as Ino took a few hesitant steps in his direction.

Ino came up in front of Kai and looked him in the eye. Kai saw her tear up slightly just before she flung herself at him, wrapping him in a teary hug. Kai panicked slightly, frantically looking around at the rest of the people in the clearing, who were smiling at the display. Finally, Kai wrapped his own arms around Ino and held her just as tightly as she clung to him.

After a few more seconds, Ino seemed to realize what she was doing. She stiffened slightly and Kai released his hold on her. Ino stepped back and looked Kai in the eyes once more. "Come back soon Kai," she said in a voice that was heavy with emotion.

Kai nodded dumbly and, before he knew it, Ino had leaned in and given him a light kiss on the cheek. Ino blushed deeply and turned away, running back into the woods. Kai lifted his hand to his cheek and stood silent for a moment before he realized what had just happened. Acting on a whim, Kai took off after Ino.

"Ino," Kai called out once he had passed the tree line, "wait up!"

Surprisingly enough, Ino did wait, and Kai came upon her standing next to a large tree with a heavy blush adorning her face. "Kai," she said as he approached, "I'm sor…"

Kai held up his hand, cutting her off in mid sentence, "I…I didn't mind… Look, I want to give you something…" Kai trailed off as he blushed, but still managed to reach up behind his head and untie his Hitai-ate.

As Ino watched, still teary-eyed, Kai folded the cloth behind the metal plate of his Hitai-ate and stepped closer to Ino. He took her hands and pressed the headband into them, "I want you to keep this for me…I'll be back for it one day…"

Ino gave in to the inevitable and let her tears flow freely as she nodded and held the headband close to her chest, "I'll keep it safe, just take care of yourself."

Kai started to turn away, but paused halfway, "I'm really not sure what it is I feel when I see you Ino…but I know that I care about you very much."

With that, Kai leapt into the treetops and left Ino behind, unable to hear her whisper, "Be safe Kai-kun…" Ino turned and headed back to her home in the village, cradling Kai's Hitai-ate close to her chest.

--

Kai re-entered the clearing to find everyone on the ground, sorting through a collection of items that Kakashi was removing from a sealing scroll. "Hey Kai," Yue said as he came into sight, "Have fun?" Kai blushed while the others laughed lightly before turning back to the scroll.

"What are you doing?" Kai asked, walking closer to look at the various items spread across the ground. It didn't take him long to see that they were his belongings Kakashi must have retrieved from Kai's apartment.

Kakashi unsealed another item, which he grabbed and threw at him, "Looking for this." Kai caught the item before noticing it was his old back-mounted sheath and harness from his old katana. Smiling in thanks, Kai removed the old sheath, which he handed back to Kakashi, and put his new katana in its place before swinging it onto his back.

"That's more like it," Kai said, bouncing slightly to settle the sword against him.

"Kai," Naruto said with a confused look on his face, "where is your Hitai-ate?"

"Oh," Kai blushed again, "Ino has it."

Naruto looked confused, but Kakashi spoke up before Naruto could, "I see…you'll have to come back for it, won't you?"

Kai blushed deeper and nodded. "As much fun as it is making fun of Kai," Yue said, making Kai blush even more, "We really need to get going."

Kakashi quickly finished re-sealing the loose items and handed the scroll to Yue who placed it in her weapon pouch. Kai straightened up and looked over everyone in the clearing again. Kakashi walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Take care of yourself Kai. I know you will find a way to get around the council's ruling, just don't give up hope."

Kai nodded as Kakashi turned and headed back towards Konoha without another word. Next, Neji came up and merely looked Kai in the eyes. Nodding, Neji turned and followed Kakashi through the trees. As he approached the edge of the clearing he paused and turned back for a moment, "Don't forget, we need to finish our match," and then he was gone.

Choji came up and smiled knowingly. "Don't worry," he said, "I'll watch out for Ino for you." Choji ignored Kai's blush and gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before leaving as well, munching happily on some barbeque flavored potato chips.

Finally, there was only Naruto. He came up to stand in front of Kai with a serious look on his face. He waited for a few seconds before speaking, "From what I can tell, you have a lot that you owe people. You owe Neji and that mercenary a fight, you promised Ino you would return, and you all but told everyone else that you won't be back until you find a way around the council's ruling."

"Yeah…" Kai said slowly, not seeing where Naruto was going.

"The way I see it, you still owe me a fight too. We never got around to our match in the finals," Naruto said with a smile.

Kai was confused, not sure how Naruto had gotten where he had from where he had started, but was willing to ignore it. Smiling, Kai nodded, "You've got it. First time I'm free when I get back. You and me, one on one."

"And that's all I ask for. Just come back safely Oni-san," with that, Naruto turned to leave.

"Don't let the villagers get to you Oni-san!" Kai called out as Naruto reached the edge of the clearing. The orange clad Genin's only response was a wave over his shoulder, and then he was gone.

"Come on Kai," Yue said, coming up behind him and placing a comforting hand on his shoulder, "let's go home."

Kai nodded and turned to follow the Kunoichi through the treetops again. He couldn't think about Konoha now; there were more important things to deal with. He had spent the last several months living for the future because he had no past, but now he was being forced to do the same in order to survive. He couldn't focus on anything now 

except the present and the future; worrying about the past would only slow him down. There was nothing for him now except what he was doing and what the future holds.

--

AN: And there you have it, the final chapter of my fic. I had a lot of fun writing this fic and I hope that you had fun reading it. I am planning a sequel, which must have been obvious seeing the way this one ended, but I won't be able to start it until after August (check my profile page for details). It would be awesome if I could come back after the summer and find dozens of reviews that weren't there when I last checked.

Kyo and Izumi are characters that belong to my younger brother and his girlfriend, AkraIzumi. I used them with their permission, and no one else can without contacting them, probably through AkraIzumi's profile or through me.

Does anyone have any idea as to what Jutsu Kai got from Kakashi? I could tell you, but that would ruin the surprise. I don't think it was too hard to figure out anyway.

Also, I would really appreciate any feedback on my relationship scenes with Kai and Ino. I am slightly anxious to find out how they are coming across to everyone else.

Jutsu List:

_Doton: Ishi Rendan_: Earth Style: Stone Barrage

Suna- Sand

Kumo- Cloud


End file.
